Kagoshima-Chūō Station (鹿児島中央駅, Kagoshima-Chūō-eki, Kagoshima Central Station) is a major railway station in the city of Kagoshima, Japan. It is operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It is also the southernmost high-speed Shinkansen railway terminal in Japan.[1][2]
The conventional portion of the station consists of three ground-level island platforms and six tracks laid in a roughly north-south direction, while the Shinkansen portion of the station is elevated (three stories) with two island platforms and four tracks laid in a right-angle. The Shinkansen platform can accommodate trains of up to eight cars in length (can be extended to ten cars), and has a movable platform safety fence. The station building is located on the second floor, halfway between the conventional line platform and the Shinkansen platform, and the exits are connected by a concourse. The station has a Midori no Madoguchi staffed ticket office.
Kagoshima-Chūō initially opened on October 11, 1913 as Take Station (武駅, Take-eki) on the Sendai Line.[3][4] On December 17, 1915, the adjacent Take Ekimae tram stop (武駅前停留所) opened.[5]
Take Station changed its name to Nishi-Kagoshima Station (西鹿児島駅) on October 17, 1927,[3] with the Take Ekimae tram stop being renamed Nishi-Kagoshima Ekimae tram stop (西鹿児島駅前停留所) on August 7, 1928.[5]
On March 13, 2004, Nishi-Kagoshima Station was renamed Kagoshima-Chūō Station (鹿児島中央駅),[3] and Kyushu Shinkansen services began between Shin-Yatsushiro and Kagoshima-Chūō. The Nishi-Kagoshima Ekimae tram stop was renamed the Kagoshima-Chuo Ekimae tram stop (鹿児島中央駅前停留所).[5]
Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2020, the station was used by an average of 14,013 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 3rd among the busiest stations of JR Kyushu.[6]
