Urakami Station (浦上駅, Urakami-eki) is a railway station in Kawaguchi-chō, Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Kyushu and is on the Nagasaki Main Line. It is the station where the old line and new line sections of the Nagasaki Line intersect. In front of the station is the Urakami Ekimae stop on the Nagasaki Electric Tramway.

Urakami Station

浦上駅
The temporary Urakami Station building with the elevated platforms in the background in April, 2020.
General information
LocationKawaguchi-machi, Nagasaki, Nagasaki
(長崎県長崎市川口町)
Japan
Operated byJR Kyushu
Line(s)Nagasaki Main Line
History
Opened1897
Previous namesNagasaki (until 1905)
Passengers
20053,801 daily

Layout edit

 
Station platforms
 
Ticket office and ticketing area
 
Station platforms prior to elevation of the station

Urakami Station has a single elevated island platform servicing two tracks.[1] The station entrance and ticketing area are located on the ground level with the platforms on the upper level.[2] There are two automatic ticket machines, a Midori no Madoguchi ticket office and two SUGOCA card readers instead of automatic ticket gates.

Tracks
1 Express Seaside Liner
Nagasaki Main Line
To Nagasaki
2 Express Seaside Liner To IsahayaŌmuraHuis ten BoschSasebo
Nagasaki Main Line (via Ichinuno) To Isahaya・YueKōhokuTosu
Nagasaki Main Line (via Nagayo)・Ōmura Line To Isahaya・Ōmura・Huis ten Bosch・Sasebo

Surrounding area edit

In front of the station is the Urakami Ekimae stop of the Nagasaki Electric Tramway. Behind the station is a hospital, and nearby are condos, concert halls, broadcast stations and schools among other things. Many of the people who use this station are commuters to these places.

Educational facilities edit

  • Kassui High School and Junior High School
  • Nagasaki Nishi High School
  • Fuchi Junior High School
  • Zenza Elementary School
  • Sakamoto Elementary School
  • Kitakyushu Preparatory School
  • Nagasaki University School of Medicine
  • Nagasaki University School of Dentistry

Medical care edit

  • Nagasaki University Hospital of Medicine and Dentistry
  • Japanese Red Cross Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Hospital
  • Nagasaki Prefecture Medical Association Hall

Cultural facilities edit

  • Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims
  • Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
  • Nagasaki City Peace Hall
  • Nagasaki City Museum of History and Folklore
  • Nagasaki Brick Hall

Media edit

  • Nagasaki Shimbun
  • Nagasaki Cultural Telecasting Corporation

Usage edit

On average 3,801 people use this station per day (2005 estimate).

History edit

 
Stone monument noting that this was the site of the original Nagasaki Station.
 
View of the old station circa 1899.

When this station first opened on July 22, 1897, it was called Nagasaki Station. Even today there is a stone monument in one corner of the station plaza which reads "The Site of Nagasaki Station" (「長崎駅址」). On August 9, 1945 the station was destroyed by the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

The station was rebuilt as an elevated station and reopened on March 28, 2020. The elevation of Urakami Station, together with Nagasaki Station, which started in 2009 as a grade separation project to abolish busy level crossings, is completed in preparation for the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen.[2]

  • 1897-07-22 - Opens for business as Nagasaki Station, the terminal station of the Nagasaki Line of Kyushu Railways.
  • 1905-04-05 - The line extends and the station is renamed to Urakami Station.
  • 1907-07-01 - The station becomes nationally run according to the nationalization of Kyushu Railways.
  • 1909-10-12 - Japanese National Railways renames the line the Nagasaki Main Line (長崎本線).
  • 1945-08-09 - Damaged by the atomic bombing.
  • 1972-10-02 - The "new line" section of the Nagasaki Main Line opens and Urakami Station becomes a junction for the new and old sections of the line.
  • 1976-06-06 - The track between Tosu Station and Nagasaki Station (Nagasaki) becomes electrified.
  • 1987-04-01 - Japanese National Railways privatizes and JR Kyushu becomes the station's operator.
  • 2013-12-14 - The existing station building is demolished and a temporary station building is built in preparation of station elevation.[3]
  • 2020-03-28 - The station is rebuilt and reopened as an elevated station.[2]

Adjacent stations edit

Service
Kikitsu   Nagasaki Main Line (Rapid Seaside Liner※)   Nagasaki
Utsutsugawa   Nagasaki Main Line ("new line" local service)   Nagasaki
Nishi-Urakami   Nagasaki Main Line ("old line" local service)   Nagasaki

※Some trains are different in a station to stop.

References edit

  1. ^ "JR長崎本線(長崎駅から浦上駅間)の高架化について" (in Japanese). 2019-12-13. Archived from the original on 2020-02-20.
  2. ^ a b c 長崎新聞 (2020-03-28). "JR 新「長崎駅」開業 高架化、踏切4カ所廃止 長崎-浦上両駅 新型コロナで式典で中止 | 長崎新聞". 長崎新聞 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
  3. ^ "事業の経緯 | 長崎県". www.pref.nagasaki.jp. Retrieved 2021-05-10.


32°45′56″N 129°51′48″E / 32.765449°N 129.863292°E / 32.765449; 129.863292