Naka-Handa Station (中判田駅, Naka-Handa-eki) is a passenger railway station located in Ōita City, Ōita Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Kyushu.[1][2]

Lines

The station is served by the Hōhi Main Line and is located 136.3 km from the starting point of the line at Kumamoto.[3]

Layout

The station consists of an island platform serving two tracks. The station building is an old wooden structure and houses a waiting area, a staffed ticket window, a SUGOCA charge machine and a SUGOCA card reader. Access to the island platform is by means of a footbridge.[2][3]

The station is unmanned, but there is an automatic ticket vending machine.

Platforms

1 ■ ■ Hōhi Main Line for Bungo-Taketa and Kumamoto
2 ■ ■ Hōhi Main Line for Ōita

History

Japanese Government Railways (JGR) opened the station on 1 April 1914 as the western terminus of its Inukai Light Rail Line (犬飼軽便線) (later Inukai Line) from Ōita. Naka-Handa became a through-station on 1 September 1916 when the track was extended further west to Takenaka. By 1928, the track had, extended west in phases, had linked up with the Miyagi Line (宮地線) reaching eastwards from Kumamoto. On 2 December 1928, the entire track from Kumamoto through Naka-Handa to Ōita was designated as the Hōhi Main Line. With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, Naka-Handa came under the control of JR Kyushu.[4][5]

In September 2017, Typhoon Talim (Typhoon 18) damaged the Hōhi Main Line at several locations. Services between Aso and Naka-Handa were suspended and replaced by bus services. Rail services were resumed on 2 October 2017.[6]

JR Kyushu had planned to convert Naka-Handa (with several other stations in Ōita City) into an unstaffed, remotely-managed "Smart Support Station" by 17 March 2018 but after opposition from users, this was postponed, pending works to improve accessibility.[7]It was then introduced on July 1, 2023.[8]

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2016, the station was used by an average of 950 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 172nd among the busiest stations of JR Kyushu.[9]

Surrounding area

  • Tojigawara Battlefield Site
  • Oita Prefectural Oita Minami High School
  • Oita City Handa Junior High School
  • Oita City Handa Elementary School

See also

References

  1. ^ "JR Kyushu Route Map" (PDF). JR Kyushu. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "中判田" [Nakahanda]. hacchi-no-he.net. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b Kawashima, Ryōzō (2013). 図説: 日本の鉄道 四国・九州ライン 全線・全駅・全配線・第6巻 熊本 大分 エリア [Japan Railways Illustrated. Shikoku and Kyushu. All lines, all stations, all track layouts. Volume 6 Kumamoto Ōita Area] (in Japanese). Kodansha. pp. 40, 79. ISBN 9784062951654.
  4. ^ Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 228. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  5. ^ Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory – JNR/JR] (in Japanese). Vol. II. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. 747. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
  6. ^ "10 月２日(月)からの日豊本線・豊肥本線の運転計画について(お知らせ)" [Operations plan for Nippo Main Line and Hōhi Main Line (notice)] (PDF). JR Kyushu. 29 September 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  7. ^ "大分市内、牧駅除く７駅は無人化先送り　ＪＲ九州" [With exception of Maki, unstaffing of 7 stations in Ōita City postponed JR Kyushu]. Ōita Gōdō Shimbun. 15 February 2018. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  8. ^ "大分の駅無人化さらに ７月からＪＲ九州、５駅で遠隔案内". 読売新聞オンライン (in Japanese). 20 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  9. ^ "駅別乗車人員上位300駅（平成28年度）" [Passengers embarking by station - Top 300 stations (Fiscal 2016)] (PDF). JR Kyushu. 31 July 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2018.

External links

Media related to Naka-Handa Station at Wikimedia Commons