Akihabara Station

infobox japan station


caption=Central entrance to Akihabara station.
name=秋葉原
namerom=Akihabara
pref=Tokyo
ward=Chiyoda
address=1 Soto-Kanda (JR Station)
Kanda-Sakumacho (Tokyo Metro)
Kanda-Hanaokacho (Tsukuba Express)
jaloc=
open=1890
close=
presentname=
line=
JR East
Keihin-Tōhoku Line
Yamanote Line
Chūō-Sōbu Line

Tokyo Metro
Hibiya Line

Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company
Tsukuba Express
operator=
bus=

nihongo|Akihabara Station|秋葉原駅| akihabara-eki is locatedin Tokyo's Chiyoda ward. It is at the centre of the famous Akihabara shopping district specialising in electronic goods.

History

Akihabara Station was opened in November 1890 as a freight terminal linked to Ueno Station station via tracks following the course of the modern day Yamanote Line.

It was opened to passenger traffic in 1925 following the constructionof the section of track linking Ueno with Shinbashi via Tokyo station and the completion of the Yamanote Line. The upperlevel platforms were added in 1932 with the opening of an extension to the Sōbu Line from its old terminal at Ryōgoku to Ochanomizu, making Akihabara into an important transfer station for passengers from the east of Tokyo and Chiba.

The huge growth in commuter traffic following the Second World War caused considerable congestion and was only relieved with the construction of the Sōbu line tunnel linking Kinshichō with Tokyo, bypassing Akihabara.

The Hibiya Line subway station was opened on May 31, 1962 withthe line's extension from Naka-Okachimachi to Ningyōchō.

On August 24, 2005, the underground terminus of the new Tsukuba Express Line opened at Akihabara. The entire station complex, including the JR station, was also refurbished and enlarged in preparation for the opening of the Tsukuba Express. [ [http://news.seejapan.co.uk/newsarticle.cfm?issueid=113&articleID=817 SeeJapan: August 2007 ] ]

Lines

JR East:
* Keihin-Tōhoku Line
* Yamanote Line
* Chūō-Sōbu Line

Tokyo Metro :
*Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line

Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company:
*Tsukuba Express

The above-ground section of the station is cross-shaped, with the Chūō-Sōbu Line tracks running from east to west, and the Yamanote and Keihin-Tōhoku Line (and Tōhoku Shinkansen, which does not stop at Akihabara) from north to south.

Around the Station

The main attraction is the Akihabara electronics retail district to the north and west of the station.

Layout

JR East

*There are 2 island platforms with 4 tracks for the Yamanote Line and the Keihin-Tohoku Line on the 2nd level, and 2 side platforms with 2 tracks for the Sobu Line Local Service on the 4th level.

Tokyo Metro

*There are 2 side platforms with 2 tracks underground.

Tsukuba Express

*There is an island platform with 2 tracks underground.

Adjacent stations

-!colspan=5|JR East
-!colspan=5|Tokyo Metro
-!colspan=5|Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company
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Notes and references