Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station Explained

Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station
Native Name:新函館北斗駅
Native Name Lang:ja
Style:JR Hokkaido
Address:1-1-1 Ichido, Hokuto City
Borough:Hokkaido Prefecture
Country:Japan
Platforms:
Connections: Bus stop
Structure:Ground level
Code:H70
Former:Hongō (until 1942)
Oshima-Ōno (1942–2016)
Map Type:Japan Hokkaido#Japan
Other Services2 Header:Under Construction (2031)

is a railway station on the Hakodate Main Line in Hokuto, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The station – rebuilt and very extensively enlarged to serve from March 2016 as the northern terminal of the new Hokkaido Shinkansen – occupies the site of the former, and is currently the northernmost high-speed Shinkansen railway station in Japan.

Lines

The station, which is numbered H70, is served by trains operating on the Hakodate Main Line and the Hokkaido Shinkansen, opened in 2016.

Station Layout

Shin Hakodate Hokuto station has a total of 2 platforms serving 4 tracks on the ground level for the Hakodate Main line, and 2 side platforms on the upper level for the Hokkaido Shinkansen.

Platform No <--Name by the business operator--->Line NameDirectionNotes
Conventional Line - Ground Level Platforms
1 Hakodate Main Linefor HakodateUsed by the Rapid Hakodate Liner service
2Used by Limited Express services
for MoriOshamambeHigashi MuroranTomakomaiSapporoUsed by Limited Express and Local services
3Used by Limited Express services
for HakodateUsed by Local services
4Platform not normally used
Hokkaido Shinkansen Platforms Upper Level
11 Hokkaido Shinkansenfor Shin AomoriMoriokaSendaiTokyo
12(Used for alighting only)

History

The station opened on 10 December 1902, named .[1] It was renamed Oshima-Ono on 1 April 1942.[1] With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR Hokkaido.[1]

The station has been rebuilt and renamed, becoming a stop on the Hokkaido Shinkansen high-speed line, which opened on 26 March 2016.[2] [3] "Relay" shuttle services using three-car 733 series electric trains operate to and from the centrally-located Hakodate Station (approximately 18 km away).[4]

The rebuilt station features large windows and white support pillars modeled after poplar trees near the local Trappist monastery. Ticket vending machines are located on the second floor of the structure. The inside uses a large number of locally sourced cedar lumber and Hokkaido bricks.[5]

Since the construction of the new station, the immediate surrounding areas have been redeveloped significantly with new roads, homes and businesses.

The Hokkaido Shinkansen, connecting Honshu, Japan's main island, to the northern island of Hokkaido commenced service on 26 March 2016. Due to the line's extension to Sapporo (under construction), the Oshima-Ōno Station at Hokuto, Hokkaido, has been upgraded into the "New Hakodate-Hokuto Station," and received a bronze Fist of the North Star statue.[6]

Future

The extension of the Hokkaido Shinkansen to is scheduled to commence operation in 2031.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: 停車場変遷大辞典 国鉄・JR編. Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR. JTB . Ishino. Tetsu. 1998 . Japan . II. 4-533-02980-9.
  2. Web site: http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/economic/543389.html. ja:駅名は「新函館北斗」 道新幹線 道がJRに近く提案. Hokkaido to propose name "Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto" to JR. 4 June 2014. Doshin Web. The Hokkaido Shimbun Press. Japan. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20140606232044/http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/economic/543389.html. 6 June 2014. 11 June 2014. dead. dmy-all.
  3. Web site: http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/economic/544748.html . ja:北海道新幹線「新函館北斗」決定 JR、新駅名発表 . JR announces new Hokkaido station name: "Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto" . 11 June 2014 . Doshin Web . The Hokkaido Shimbun Press . Japan . ja . https://web.archive.org/web/20140611094400/http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/economic/544748.html . 11 June 2014 . 11 June 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
  4. Web site: http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/chiiki2/562362.html. ja:JR、地元・函館の要望に消極的 リレー列車3両/観光型車両は導入せず. JR to run 3-car relay trains, unresponsive to local wishes, with no plans for tourist trains. 12 September 2014. Doshin Web. The Hokkaido Shimbun Press. Japan. ja. https://web.archive.org/web/20140913054059/http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/chiiki2/562362.html. 13 September 2014. 13 September 2014. dead. dmy-all.
  5. 25 February 2016 . Special Preview: Hokkaido Shinkansen - Hopes and Challenges . 28 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160229053104/http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/vod/japanrailway/20160226.html . 29 February 2016 . 12:40 . NHK . dead . dmy-all .
  6. Web site: Fist of the North Star Statue to Welcome Hokkaido Bullet Train.