is a railway station located in Kankijichō, Shimogyō-ku,

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. The station was opened on 16 March 2019, and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with station number JR-E02. The station is served by the

Sagano Line The is the popular name for a portion of the Sanin Main Line in the suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. The electrified and double-tracked railway is a commuter rail line in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area, owned and operated by W ...

(

Sanin Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

History

The Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum and Kyoto Aquarium, which opened on 14 March 2014, are both located in Umekoji Park. When the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum expanded into the new

Kyoto Railway Museum The (formerly the until 2016) is a railway museum in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The original Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum opened in 1972, but was expanded and modernized in 2016, becoming the Kyoto Railway Museum. The museum is owned by We ...

, opening on 29 April 2016, the number of visitors increased significantly. However, they are 1.7 kilometers away from the nearest railway station,

Kyoto Station Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. In May 2014, the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry submitted a proposal to build a new station between Kyoto and Tambaguchi, in order to increase convenience for traveler and boost the local economy. In August of the same year, the proposal was taken into consideration by the Kyoto Government. On 2 February 2015, a Statement of Mutual Consensus was signed by JR West and the Kyoto Government, which states that the total cost of the station construction is 4.9 billion yen, with JR West paying 1.9 billion yen, and the Kyoto Government paying 1.5 billion yen, and the remaining 1.5 billion yen be paid by national subsidies.

Timeline

* 2 February 2015 - Mutual Consensus signed between City Government and JR West. * 12 August 2016 - JR West announced the designs for the new station. * 19 September 2016 - Ground-breaking Ceremony. * 30 September ~ 1 October 2017 - Track elevation works. * 26 March ~ 27 April 2018 - Public polling for station name. * 20 July 2018 - Station name finalised by JR West to be Umekōji-Kyōtonishi Station. The tentative construction name was "JR Shichijō Station". * 16 March 2019 - Opening of business.

Namesake

On 20 July 2018, JR West was announced in a press conference that the name for this station is Umekōji-Kyōtonishi Station. This name is a combination of several terms. Umekōji (梅小路) refers to Umekōji Park (梅小路公園), which is a signature landmark of the surrounding neighbourhood. Kyōtonishi (京都西) means Kyoto West, as the station is located west of Kyoto Station.

Station layout

The station is elevated, and consist of 2 tracks and 2 platforms with platform doors installed.

Surrounding area

* Umekoji Park *

* Kyoto Aquarium

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia.

External links

Railway stations in Kyoto Prefecture Railway stations in Japan opened in 2019 Railway stations in Kyoto Sanin Main Line {{Kyoto-railstation-stub