The two lines serving the station intersect at Orio, and the lines are connected by a spur track. The station therefore consists of two separated blocks: the main building with bi-level platforms at the crossing point, and detached platforms on the spur. The station has a total of three island platforms and one side platform, connected by an elevated station building. The station has a "Midori no Madoguchi" staffed ticket office.[3]
Local trains running either direction, which allow for limited express trains to pass through this station, and local shuttle trains running between this station and Kokura and/or Mojikō
The privately run Kyushu Railway had begun laying down its network on Kyushu in 1889 and by the end of 1890 had a stretch of track from Ongagawa southwards to Kurume. The track was extended northwards from Ongagawa to Kurosaki by 28 February 1891, with Orio being opened on the same day as one of the intermediate stations. On 30 August 1891, Orio also became an intermediate station for the Chikuho Kogyo Railway (later renamed the Chikuho Railway) when it laid a track from Wakamatsu to Nōgata. The Chikuho Railway merged with the Kyushu Railway on 1 October 1897. When the Kyushu Railway was nationalized on 1 July 1907, Japanese Government Railways (JGR) took over control of the station. On 12 October 1909, the station became part of the Hitoyoshi Main Line and then on 21 November 1909, part of the Kagoshima Main Line. With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, JR Kyushu took over control of the station.[4][5]
The station building was rebuilt in 1916, but use of this building was discontinued from 6 October 2012 in preparation for rebuilding work, with operations shifted to a temporary structure.[6] The station building was scheduled to be demolished during 2012, with the new structure completed in fiscal 2016.[6]
Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2020, the station was used by an average of 11,306 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 7th among the busiest stations of JR Kyushu.[7]
Airport buses leave from a bus stop located at the west exit of the main building to the Kitakyushu Airport. Also, there is a Kitakyushu municipal bus terminal for local buses connecting vicinities including Wakamatsu and Ashiya in front of the east exit of main building.
^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3巻 北九州 筑豊 エリア [Japan Railways Illustrated. Shikoku and Kyushu. All lines, all stations, all track layouts. Volume 3 Kyushu Chikuhō area] (in Japanese). Kodansha. pp. 23, 68. ISBN9784062951623.
^"Station Information" (in Japanese). Japan: Kyushu Railway Company. 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
^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. I. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. pp. 218, 233. ISBN4-533-02980-9.
^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. pp. 676, 785. ISBN4-533-02980-9.
^ ab『ありがとう折尾駅舎』開催 ["Thankyou Orio Station Building" event held]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
