Sōjōdaigakumae Station

Railway station in Kumamoto, Japan

32°49′51″N 130°41′42″E / 32.8309°N 130.6951°E / 32.8309; 130.6951Operated by

JR KyushuLine(s)■ Kagoshima Main Line,Distance191.7 km from MojikōPlatforms2 side platformsTracks2ConstructionStructure typeAt gradeAccessibleNo - platforms linked by footbridgeOther informationStatusStaffed ticket window (outsourced)WebsiteOfficial websiteHistoryOpened13 March 1988 (1988-03-13)Previous namesKumamoto Kōdaimae (until 13 March 2004)PassengersFY20161,475 dailyRank119th (among JR Kyushu stations) Location

Sōjōdaigakumae Station

Location within Japan

Sōjōdaigakumae Station (崇城大学前駅, Sōjōdaigakumae-eki) is a railway station on the Kagoshima Main Line in Nishi-ku, Kumamoto, Japan.^[1]^[2] The station name means, literally, "in front of Sojo University".

Lines

The station is served by the Kagoshima Main Line and is located 191.7 km from the starting point of the line at Mojiko.^[3]

Layout

The station consists of two side platforms serving two tracks at grade. There is no station building, only shelters on both platforms for waiting passengers and a small brickwork booth housing a ticket window. Access to the opposite side platform is by a footbridge.^[2]^[3]

Management of the station has been outsourced to the JR Kyushu Tetsudou Eigyou Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of JR Kyushu specialising in station services. It staffs the ticket counter which is equipped with a POS machine but does not have a Midori no Madoguchi facility.^[4]^[5]

A view of the platforms and tracks.

Adjacent stations

←	Service
Kagoshima Main Line
Nishisato	Local	Kami-Kumamoto
Nishisato	Rapid	Kami-Kumamoto

History

JR Kyushu opened the station on 13 March 1988 as an additional station on the existing track of the Kagoshima Main Line. At that time, the station was named Kumamoto Kōdaimae (熊本工大前駅), literally "in front of Kumamoto Industrial University", after the institute of higher education nearby. The university changed its name to Sojo University (崇城大学) in 2000. Four years later, the station followed suit, becoming Sōjōdaigakumae on 13 March 2004. With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, JR Kyushu took over control of the station.^[6]

Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2016, the station was used by an average of 1,475 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 119th among the busiest stations of JR Kyushu.^[7]

References

^ "JR Kyushu Route Map" (PDF). JR Kyushu. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
^ ^a ^b "崇城大学前" [Sōjōdaigakumae]. hacchi-no-he.net. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
^ ^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. 22, 68. ISBN 9784062951654.
^ "熊本支店内各駅" [Stations within the Kumamoto Branch]. JRTE website. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^ "崇城大学前駅" [Sōjōdaigakumae Station]. jr-mars.dyndns.org. Retrieved 28 April 2018. See images of tickets sold.
^ 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. 684. ISBN 4-533-02980-9.
^ "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.