Kaifu Station Explained

is a passenger railway station located in the town of Kaiyō, Kaifu District, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the third-sector Asa Seaside Railway and bears the station number "AK28".

Lines

Kaifu Station is served by the Asato Line and located 1.5 km from the terminus of the line at Awa-Kainan Station. The JR Mugi Line hasn't interconnected with Asa Seaside Railway since 2021.

Layout

The station, which is unstaffed, consists of two side platforms serving two tracks on an elevated structure. There is no station building and the station is unstaffed. Access to the platforms is by means of a flight of steps and the two platforms are linked by a level crossing across the tracks. A bike shed is provided at the base of the elevated structure.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Just to the north of the station, trains pass through the, a short 44m (144feet) tunnel original driven through a hill. Land development had led to the entire hill being removed but the tunnel structure was left intact.^[4]

Adjacent stations

|-!colspan=5|Asa Seaside Railway

History

Japanese National Railways (JNR) opened Kaifu Station on 1 October 1973 as an intermediate station when the track of the Mugi Line was extended from to . On 1 April 1987, with the privatization of JNR, control of the station passed to JR Shikoku. On 26 March 1992, the third sector Asa Kaigan Railway completing the extension of the track southwards to and the Asatō Line began operations with Kaifu as the northern terminus.^[5]

On 23 December 2015, a local community group in Kaiyō opened a community interaction centre underneath the elevated structure of the station to promote interaction between senior citizens and children in the town. It was located in the premises of a former town tourism information centre which had been built there in 1995.^[6]

Since 1 November 2020, the station has been transferred to Asa Seaside Railway from JR Shikoku as DMV is commenced operations from summer 2021.

Surrounding area

• Kaiyo Town Hall Kaifu Government Building

See also

• List of Railway Stations in Japan

External links

• Asa Kaigan Railway official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: 海部. Kaifu Station. 15 February 2018. hacchi-no-he.net.
2. Book: Kawashima, Ryōzō. ja: 図説: 日本の鉄道 四国・九州ライン 全線・全駅・全配線・第1巻 四国東部エリア. 2013 . Kodansha. 9784062951609. Japan Railways Illustrated. Shikoku and Kyushu. All lines, all stations, all track layouts. Volume 1 Eastern Shikoku. Japanese. 43, 74.
3. Web site: 海部駅. Kaifu Station. 15 February 2018. shikoku.org.uk.
4. Web site: 四国土木紀行No.5 町内トンネル. Shikoku Civil Engineering Proceedings No. 5 Chōnai Tunnel. Japan Society of Civil Engineers Shikoku Branch. 10 July 2007. 15 February 2018. Contains pictures of the tunnel before and after the hill around it was cut away.
5. Book: Terada, Hirokazu . ja: データブック日本の私鉄 . Databook: Japan's Private Railways . Neko Publishing . 19 January 2013 . Japan . Japanese . 172, 302 . 978-4-7770-1336-4.
6. Web site: 海部駅に交流施設 住民団体、高齢者と子どもつなぐ. Interaction facility are Kaifu Station. Residents group connects children with senior citizens. Tokushim Shimbun web. 28 January 2016. 15 February 2018.