| Hayato Station | |
| Native Name: | 隼人駅 |
| Native Name Lang: | ja |
| Symbol Location: | jp |
| Symbol: | jrk |
| Style: | JR Kyushu |
| Address: | Hayato-Chō Mitsugi, Kirishima-shi, Kagoshima-ken 899-5117 |
| Country: | Japan |
| Coordinates: | 31.7438°N 130.7397°W |
| Operator: | JR Kyushu |
| Distance: | 434.7 km from |
| Platforms: | 1 side platform + 1 island platform |
| Tracks: | 3 + multiple sidings |
| Structure: | At grade |
| Parking: | Available at forecourt |
| Bicycle: | Designated parking area for bikes |
| Accessible: | No - island platform accessed by footbridge |
| Status: | Staffed ticket window (Midori no Madoguchi) (outsourced) |
| Passengers: | 1495 |
| Pass Year: | FY2022 |
| Pass Rank: | 112th (JR Kyushu) |
| Map Type: | Japan Kagoshima Prefecture#Japan |
| Map Dot Label: | Hayato Station |
| Mapframe: | yes |
| Mapframe-Zoom: | 17 |
is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Kirishima, Kagoshima, Japan. It is operated by JR Kyushu and is on the Nippō Main Line.[1]
The station is served by the Nippō Main Line and is located 434.7 km from the starting point of the line at . It is also the southern terminus of the 124.2 kilometer Hisatsu Line to .
The station consists of a side platform and an island platform serving three tracks at grade. A passing loop and two sidings branch off track 3 to the southeast. The station building, located on the northwest side of the tracks, is a modern concrete structure with bamboo trim which houses a waiting area, automatic ticket vending machines and staffed ticket window. Access to the island platform is by means of a footbridge.[2] [3]
Management of the passenger facilities at 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 booth which is equipped with a Midori no Madoguchi facility.[4] [5]
The station was opened with the name of Kokubu on 10 June 1901 by Japanese Government Railways (JGR) as the northern terminus of the then Kagoshima Line which it had laid from . From here, the track was extended north in phases, reaching Yokogawa (now) on 15 January 1903 and on 5 September 1903. By 1909, the track had linked up with the Hitoyoshi line reaching south from . Through traffic was achieved between in the north of Kyushu to in the south. The entire stretch of track from Mojikō through Yatsushiro, Kokubu to Kagoshima was redesignated as the Kagoshima Main Line on 21 November 1909.[6]
By 1927, another track from Yatsushiro through to Kagoshima had been built and this was now designated as part of the Kagoshima Main Line. The track from Yatsushiro through Kokubu to Kagoshima was thus redesignated as the Hisatsu Line on 17 October 1927.
On 1 September 1929, the station was renamed Nishi-Kokubu. On 24 November 1929, a new track, the was opened to another station further to the east which took on the previous name of . On 15 September 1930, Nishi-Kokubu was renamed to Hayato. The Kokuto-West Line was expanded to the east and north, linking up with the Kokuto-East Line and other networks so that by the end of 1932, through-traffic had been established between and Kagoshima. On 6 December 1932, the entire stretch of track from Kokura through Hayato to Kagoshima was redesignated as the Nippō Main Line. At the same time, Hayato became the southern terminus of the Hisatsu Line. With the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor of JGR, on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR Kyushu.[6]
In fiscal 2022, the station was used by an average of 1495 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), and it ranked 112nd among the busiest stations of JR Kyushu.[7]