Matsuyama City Station

Matsuyama City Station 松山市駅
Matsuyama City Station building
Location
Prefecture	Ehime (See other stations in Ehime)
City	Matsuyama
History
Year opened	1888
Former names	Matsuyama Station Togawa Station
Present name since	1927
Rail services
Operator(s)	Iyo Railway
Line(s)	Takahama Line Yokogawara Line Gunchū Line
Iyotetsu streetcar connected

Matsuyama City Station (松山市駅, Matsuyama-shi-eki^?), informally known as "Shieki" is the terminus for the Iyo Railway's rail, tram, and bus lines. It also forms one of Matsuyama's city centers.

History

Matsuyama City Station, circa 1930

Matsuyama City Station, Matsuyama's first central train station, preceding the JR Matsuyama Station by four decades, was constructed in 1888 by the Iyo Railway company as part of the first railway in Shikoku and the third private railway in Japan.^[1] The first Iyotetsu line ran between the City Station and the port of Mitsugahama (now called Mitsuhama), with an interim stop at Komachi.

The station originally called Matsuyama was renamed as Togawa Station (外側駅, Togawa-eki^?) in 1888, and again as Matsuyama in 1902. In 1927, the name was usurped by the government railway's (now JR) Matsuyama Station and the new name Matsuyama-shi (Matsuyama City) was given.^[2]

The station today

The station building houses the terminus for three Iyo Railway lines: the Takahama Line, (高浜線), the Yokogawara Line (横河原線), and the Gunchū Line (郡中線). A tram station in front of the station building is the terminus for five of the six streetcar lines with the exception of Line 6, and the Botchan Ressha, a replica of the original Iyo Railway locomotives.

The station building is also home to the Matsuyama branch of the Takashimaya department store chain. There is also an arcade beneath the station, known as Matsuchika Town.

References

1. ^ Yuichiro Kishi, "Railway Operators in Japan 13: Shikoku Region," Japan Railway & Transport Review 39 (2004): 44.
2. ^ Iyo Railway. "伊予鉄道発祥の地「松山市駅」の足跡" (in Japanese). http://www.iyotetsu.co.jp/company/info/. Retrieved July 19, 2011.