Sakura Shukugawa Station

nihongo|Sakura Shukugawa Station|さくら夙川駅|Sakura Shukugawa eki is a train station located in Kagura-chō (神楽町), Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, and is operated by the West Japan Railway Company. The station is on the JR Kobe Line which runs between Osaka Station and Himeji Station; part of the Tōkaidō Main Line. The station was built between two existing JR stations, Nishinomiya Station and Ashiya Station. As a part of the JR West Urban Network, the following cards are accepted: J-Thru Card, ICOCA, Suica, and PiTaPa.

The station's name comes from the park approximately 200m west of the station, Shukugawa Park (夙川公園). The park is situated on the banks of the Shukugawa riverbed and is famous for its annual display of Cherry Blossoms, and is quite a popular site for flower viewing parties.

tation Layout and Design

tation Placement

Most of the JR Kobe Line runs on nihongo|four tracks|複々線|Fukufukusen, meaning that there are two tracks for each direction. Similar to other stations such as Kōnan-Yamate Station, Sakura Shukugawa Station is of the island type, that is situated between the four tracks. Specifically, it is between the two inner tracks that provide local service. Local trains stop at this station. Rapid Service trains pass the station on the same track, but do not stop. Special Rapid Service and other Limited Express trains pass by on the outer track.

Building Design

With regard to the design of the station building, the basic concept was to give the station a natural warmth and vibrance. The roof line is a conceptual representation of waves flowing down the Shukugawa River, and the walls are the color of cherry blossoms.

Hyōgo Prefecture Highway 82 passes underneath the platform and tracks.

Gates

The station has only one gate, located on the south side of the station.

Train Platforms

Area Around the Station

*Shukugawa River (West of the station)
*Shukugawa Park (West of the station)
*Hankyū Kōbe Line - Shukugawa Station (To the northwest)
*Hanshin Main Line - Nishinomiya Station (To the southeast) and Kōroen Station (To the southwest)
*Route 2
*Nishinomiya Jinja (Eight minutes walk south)

tation History

*2001 - Construction began. Tentative station name: JR Shukugawa (JR夙川駅).
*22 November,2006 - Official station name announced: JR Sakura Shukugawa (JRさくら夙川駅).
*18 March,2007 - Station opens to the public and passenger service begins.

Adjacent stations

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Other Information

*Starting with the first train of the day until 6am, the station is unmanned. Tickets sold during this time are marked with the katakana character "mu (ム)".
*The establishment of this station was quite unique. Normally, the local government encourages people to petition for a new station to be built. The widening of Prefecture Road 82 was already underway and money from the national government was being used. Because of that, basically, Nishinomiya didn't have the burden of petitioning for the station, but rather JR West went to the government and began to work out the plans for a new station.
*Prefecture Road 82, directly below the station, had already been undergoing construction to widen the road, so when the construction of the station began, both construction sites were operating at the same time, one on top of the other.
*In the same area as JR Sakura Shukugawa Station are three other train stations within a 500m radius, however, Sakura Shukugawa Station is the only one that provides service directly to JR Shin-Osaka Station. This means customers needing to use the shinkansen have to change trains only once without having to walk from one station to another. This is said to be a very favorable point for JR Sakura Shukugawa Station.
*In preparation of JR Sakura Shukugawa Station's opening, on 28 October, 2006, both Hankyū Railway and Hanshin Electric Railway altered their schedules and changed which trains would stop at the stations that are direct competitors of JR Sakura Shukugawa Station. At Hankyū Shukugawa Station, where before only local service stopped, now Limited Express and Commuter Express would stop. At Hanshin Kōroen Station, Limited Express trains began stopping in the morning. These changes were made, it is thought, to go head-to-head with the new JR Sakura Shukugawa Station.
*Before the station opened to the public, there was no practice for stopping the train at the station in an actual train. Training was presented in a classroom. The train operator labor union severely opposed this. In response, it was decided that for any operator stopping at Sakura Shukugawa Station for the first time would be accompanied by an instructor.
*To remind the train operator that he/she needs to stop at Sakura Shukugawa Station, signs were placed at the #0 Inside Track Signal and the #4 Outside Track Signal, reading 夙川停車 (Shukugawa Teisha).
*In front of the station, both Hankyū Bus and Hanshin Bus have established bus stops. The north bound (toward Hankyū Shukugawa Station) stop is underneath the platform and tracks where Prefecture Road 82 passes under the station. The south bound (toward Hanshin Nishinomiya Station) stop is just a bit further north of the station.
*Sakura Shukugawa Station is one of the rare stations in the country to have a special melody. Rather than the usual JR West melody that plays when a train is arriving, the song "桜 (Sakura)" by Kobukuro is heard played on an electronic サビ (sabi), a music instrument.
*At Sakura Shukugawa Station, there is no Smoking Corner as at other stations. Rather, the entire station is non-smoking.
*The uniforms worn at Sakura Shukugawa Station are an original design for this station.
*While they are few in number, JR is attempting to make Sakura Shukugawa a station staffed entirely by women.

Related Items

*List of railway stations in Japan

External links

* [http://www.jr-odekake.net/eki/top.php?id=0610151 JR West - Sakura Shukugawa Station (Japanese Only)]
* [http://www.ekikara.jp/newdata/station/28206041.htm Ekikara.jp - Sakura Shukugawa Station Time Table (Japanese Only)]
* [http://www.shukugawa-navi.com/ Shukugawa Marugoto Web Guide - Shukugawa Area Guide (Japanese Only)]