Ōsaka Station (大阪駅, Ōsaka-eki) is a major railway station in the Umeda district of Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It forms as one of the city's main railway terminals to the north, the other being Shin-Ōsaka.
Ōsaka Station and Umeda Station, effectively part of the same complex, together constitute the busiest station in Western Japan, serving 2,343,727 passengers daily in 2005, and the fourth-busiest railway station in the world.[1]
Ōsaka Station also houses a large terminal for overnight bus services to other cities in Japan, and until March 2013 also had a nearby freight terminal complex, Umeda Freight Terminal, owned by JR Freight.
Station layout
Grand Front Ōsaka North Gate Building in December 2015Ōsaka Station Toki no hiroba plaza in June 2011Commuter trains at Ōsaka StationŌsaka Station at sunsetRoute map of trains departing from Osaka Station in 2023
Ōsaka station is elevated above street level, on the second floor of the station complex. There are four concourses, corresponding to four sets of ticket gates: the Midosuji gates, serving as a transfer point to Hankyu and SubwayUmeda Station and Higashi-Umeda Station; the Central gates, with access to Daimaru, Lucua, Yodobashi Camera, Umeda Sky Building, Grand Front and transfers to Hanshin Umeda and JR Kitashinchi Station; the Sakurabashi gates, with access to Ōsaka Garden City and transfers to Subway Nishi-Umeda Station, city bus, hotel shuttle buses and taxi; and the Bridge Gates, with direct access into Daimaru and Lucua, as well as a bridge passage to Hankyu Umeda. The Midosuji concourse is on the lower level, with escalators and elevators leading directly to platforms; the Central concourse has both direct escalators and a mezzanine-level transfer passage connected by stairs; the Sakurabashi concourse has gates on ground level but is primarily on the mezzanine level, connected to the central concourse by a corridor; and the Bridge Gate is on the third level above the platforms, and connected by escalators and elevators. An additional concourse is planned for the west side of the station, which will link the elevated platforms with the under-construction underground platforms to the northwest of the main station.
Platforms and tracks are on the second floor. There were previously six island platforms and one side platform serving 13 tracks; the highest-numbered track was Track 11, as the Osaka Loop Line tracks were referred to as "Inner Loop" and "Outer Loop" only. In preparation for the construction of the new north building, the sixth platform was closed and the seventh was removed altogether; at the same time, the remaining platforms were renumbered so that Tracks 1 and 2 were for the Ōsaka Loop Line, and so on. The sixth platform reopened on 20 December 2009 and there became five island platforms and a side platform serving 11 tracks in total (up to the new Track 11—the old Track 9). The remainder of the old Track 11 platform, on the west side of the station, was used as a pedestrian walkway linking the North Gate Building with its parking garage until 2020, when it was removed to facilitate construction of a new West Gate Building. There was originally a through track in between tracks 8 and 9, but it had been long disused; during the closure of Track 11, the platform for Tracks 9 and 10 was expanded and this track was used temporarily as Track 9. Since 12 October 2010, this track has been used permanently as Track 8 after the widening of the adjoining platform.
An additional four tracks are located under the northwest side of the station complex, via relocated underground JR Freight tracks (Umeda branch line) originally used for Umeda Freight Station. Opened for passenger service on 18 March 2023, these tracks serve as the western terminus of the Osaka Higashi Line, with single track connection for continuing Umeda branch freight service as well as Haruka and Kuroshio limited express services.[2] There is also a stub tunnel west of the platforms, for planned connection to the Naniwasuji Line.
Osaka Station opened on 11 May 1874, as one of the first railway stations in the Kansai region when the railway between Osaka and Kobe started operation. It was electrified along with the Tōkaidō Main Line in 1934.
The existence of the station naturally made the area the primary transport hub of the city. Railways that set Ōsaka Station as the terminal or built their terminal around Osaka Station include Osaka Railway (present-day east half of the Osaka Loop Line) in 1895, Nishinari Railway (west half of the Osaka Loop Line) in 1898, Hanshin Electric Railway in 1906, Minoo Arima Electric Tramway (Hankyu Railway) in 1910, and Osaka Municipal Subway in 1933. The regional railways tended to name their stations Umeda, the name of the area, rather than the city name.
The air raids in World War II flattened the blocks in front of the station. Immediately after the war, the area turned into a huge black market, the atmosphere of which remained until redevelopment in the 1970s.
The station building was rebuilt in 1901, 1940, and 1979 (north building). In 1983, a high-rise building, Acty Osaka, which housed a department store and a hotel, was added to the south of the station.
A new north station building (the North Gate Building) was opened in 2011, coinciding with an expansion of Acty Osaka (now the South Gate Building) and major renovation of the station areas with a new concourse and north–south connection. This is the first step in a larger drive to redevelop the land used by JR Freight's Umeda Terminal, which is seen as the last undeveloped piece of real estate in the area. Plans also call for moving the Umeda Freight Line underground and establishing a terminal for the Osaka Higashi Line just north of ALBi, with an eye towards a future extension to JR Namba Station (thus alleviating delays on the Osaka Loop Line caused by Limited Express trains). The relocation of the former Umeda Freight line (and related redevelopments) ultimately became part of the Naniwasuji Line project in 2019.[3]
Station numbering was introduced in March 2018 with the Tokaido Line platforms being assigned station number JR-A47, the Fukuchiyama Line platforms being assigned station number JR-G48, and the Osaka Loop Line platforms being assigned station number JR-O11.[4][5]
The new underground facilities at Osaka Station (nicknamed Ume-kita during planning and construction) opened for service from the start of the revised timetable on 18 March 2023.[6] In preparation for the opening, all limited express trains running on the Umeda Freight Line were re-routed through the new underground tracks in February 2023.[7]
A new line called the Naniwasuji Line is planned to be opened by 2031 and will route trains under the Naniwasuji corridor to JR Namba Station and further south.[3] To prepare for the opening of the line, an additional two underground platforms serving four tracks opened for service on the northwest side of the station on 18 March 2023.[8] The next phase of the Naniwasuji Line is to construct the underground tracks south to JR Namba Station and the Nankai Main Line.
Surrounding area
Exterior of Osaka StationSouth Gate Building, December 2014
^"「はるか」地下へ切り替え 東海道線、ホーム開業控え工事" [Work Continues at Osaka Umekita as the Haruka Limited Express Is Rerouted Underground]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 14 February 2023. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^ ab"なにわ筋線「北梅田～ＪＲ難波・南海新今宮」の鉄道事業許可" [Railway business license for Naniwasuji Line "Kita Umeda-JR Namba / Nankai Shin-Imamiya"] (PDF). Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MLIT) (in Japanese). 9 July 2019. Archived(PDF) from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
^"近畿エリアの12路線 のべ300駅に「駅ナンバー」を導入します！" ["Station numbers" will be introduced at a total of 300 stations on 12 lines in the Kinki area!]. westjr.co.jp (in Japanese). 20 July 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
^"「駅ナンバー」一覧表" ["Station number" list] (PDF). westjr.co.jp (in Japanese). 20 July 2016. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
^"梅田貨物線「地下化」来年2月に「うめきた地下ホーム」使用開始に先行" [Umeda Freight Line "Underground ahead of the start of use of "Umekita Underground Platform in February next year]. news.railway-pressnet.com. 9 December 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
^"「はるか」地下へ切り替え 東海道線、ホーム開業控え工事" [Work Continues at Osaka Umekita as the Haruka Limited Express Is Rerouted Underground]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 14 February 2023. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
^杉山, 淳一 (November 11, 2016). "「なにわ筋線」の開通で特急「ラピート」と「はるか」が統合される？" [Will the limited express "Rapi:t" and "Haruka" be integrated with the opening of "Naniwasuji Line"?]. itmedia.co.jp/ (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 March 2023.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Osaka Station.
