is a passenger

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

located in the city of

Saiki, Ōita is a city located in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 65,870 in 32921 households, and a population density of 73 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , making it the largest city by area in Kyushu. ...

, Japan. It is operated by

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...

Lines

The station is served by the

Nippō Main Line The is a railway line in Kyushu, in southern Japan, operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Also known as the Fukuhoku Nippo Line, The line connects Kokura Station in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima Station in Kagoshima, Kagoshima, K ...

and is located 231.0 km from the starting point of the line at .

Layout

The station consists of two

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...

s serving two track with a siding set on a side hill cutting in a remote mountainous area. The station is not staffed and there is no station building. A small shed and a public telephone call box are provided as a passenger shelter near the station entrance and another shelter is provided on the opposite side platform. The platforms are linked by a footbridge.

Platforms

Sotaro Station 3.JPG, Footbridge connecting platforms Sotaro station entrance.jpg, Station entrance

History

The private

Kyushu Railway was a company that built and operated railways in Kyushu, one of four main islands of Japan. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationalization in 1907, and many are now operated by Kyushu Railway ...

had, by 1909, through acquisition and its own expansion, established a track from to down the east coast of Kyushu. The Kyushu Railway was nationalised on 1 July 1907.

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national rail transport, railway system directly operated by the until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Railways Group. Name The English name "Japanese ...

(JGR), designated the track as the Hōshū Main Line on 12 October 1909 and expanded it southwards in phases over the next 13 years, establishing Shigeoka as its southern terminus on 26 March 1922. At the same time, JGR had been expanding its Miyazaki Main Line north from , reaching , just 9 km south of Shigeoka by July 1923. The link up between the two lines was achieved on 15 December 1923, establishing through traffic from Kokura in the north to . The entire stretch of track was then renamed the Nippō Main Line. On the same day, Sōtarō was opened as a signal box on the linking track. On 1 March 1947, Sōtarō was upgraded to a full station. The station has been unattended since 1972. With the privatization of

Japanese National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

(JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR Kyushu.

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2015, there were a total of 144 boarding passengers, giving a daily average of less than 1 passenger. See table 128 Transport situation by individual railway stations (JR Kyushu JR Freight).

Surrounding area

Japan National Route 10 240px, Route 10, Ōita 240px, Route 10, Fukuoka, Kanda is a Japanese highway on the island of Kyushu. It originates at the intersection with Route 2 in Kitakyushu, Furoka and passes through the prefectural capitals of Ōita and Miyazaki ...

References

External links

Sōtarō (JR Kyushu)
Railway stations in Ōita Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 1947 Saiki, Ōita {{Oita-rail-station-stub