Matsuiyamate Station (松井山手駅)
Matsuiyamate Station, located in Yamate-Chuo, Kyotanabe City, Kyoto Prefecture, is a stop on the Katamachi Line, which is operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). ICOCA/J-through cards can be used in this station. Suica, TOICA and PiTaPa (by SURUTTO KANSAI ASSOCIATION), which are mutually usable with ICOCA, can also be used.
Nearly all the local trains return from this station. The rapid trains stop at Kizu Station (Kyoto Prefecture), Matsuiyamate Station and Nagao Station (Osaka Prefecture). Previously, the work of connecting and disconnecting cars was conducted in this station, but eventually the work has been conducted at Kyotanabe Station since March, 2002.
It's a station whose construction was requested by people and whose construction cost was borne by Keihan Electric Railway, which has developed Keihan East Rose Town around the station (Ono Station on the Kosei Line (Shiga Prefecture) was built through a similar process).
The station's structure
It is a trench-type station (in which railway tracks are placed in a trench), with two separate platforms with two tracks served between them, and its station house is placed over the tracks. Because only a single track is provided from this station to the direction of Kizu, it's also provided with the function to switch the trains that use the single track. Since this station is located in a hilly area near the border with Osaka Prefecture, the tracks and platforms are placed in a trench. An elevator is installed on each of the platforms. The 321 Series trains are operated up to this station.
The operation of this station is entrusted to JR West Kotsu Service.
Mainly, Platform 1 is used for inbound trains going in the direction of Kizu Station and Platform 2 is used for outbound trains going in the direction of Kyobashi Station, but the tracks on which trains arrive or depart are changed depending on the time zone or on which tracks the returning trains use (most of the trains returning in the direction of Kyobashi arrive at and depart from Platform 1).
In the daytime, the rapid trains going to/coming from the direction of Kizu Station (both inbound trains and outbound trains) formerly used Platform 1, with local trains returning from this station using Platform 2, but because trains going to/coming from the direction of Kizu Station have come to meet here, each platform is fixed, in the daytime, to the use of the trains running in only one direction.
A side track is provided in the direction of Kizu and is used to change the direction of the returning trains and to store trains in the nighttime hours. The side track is sometimes used to keep trains when the train schedule is disrupted, but it can't be used fully since it's connected only to Platform 2.
Station surroundings
Keihan East Rose Town
Matsuigaoka and Osumigaoka
The Kyotanabe Matsuiyamate post office
The Matsuigaoka and Osumigaoka parks
National Route 1
The Second Keihan National Highway
Suwagahara Park
Matsuigaoka Elementary School, Kyotanabe City
Bus routes
A traffic circle used by the buses of Keihin Bus is located in front of the station.
For a period of time in the past, the stop was called the 'U-house limousine center/Gakken Yamate.'
Now, buses for Shin-Tanabe Station of Kintetsu Railways make frequent departures from this stop, and three main routes are operated for Kuzuha Station as well.
For Shin-Tanabe Station, Route 63 via Kenkomura (the health village), routes 68/31 via Hata, and routes 31/31A/65/67/67B/67D via Inaba through Chayamae are provided, and Route 65 for the Kyotanabe City Hall is also provided, although it doesn't operate very frequently. For Kuzuha Station, the buses run at first in the direction of Shin-Tanabe, enter, at Osumigaoka, routes 16/16B or routes 16A/16C/67D, and enter, at Hongo, routes 30/31/31A: routes 16/16B - for Gokodani/Oshiba via Osumi/Matsui, routes 16A/16C/67D - merging at Kinemonguchi into the two routes above via Hongo through Matsuiyamate, and routes 30/31/31A - via Setsunan-daigaku Kita-guchi (the north entrance to Setsunan University) and Matsusato.
Additionally, buses for Hirakatashi Station run roughly once an hour, and the buses circulating the Keihan East Rose Town community are operated two to seven times an hour.
Limousine buses for Kansai International Airport / Osaka International Airport are also operated.
The operation of the 'U-house limousine center/Gakken Yamate' stop started on April 17, 1996, and was placed around the location of current Resona Bank until around 2003 to 2004, but the stop has now been moved in front of boarding-place 2 in the traffic circle and the name 'U-house limousine center/Gakken Yamate' has not been used.
Passenger use
In fiscal year 2006, the number of persons getting on board at this station each day was approximately 6,063.
(According to the Kyoto Prefecture Statistics Report)
Because many houses and condominiums are situated around this station, many people use it. Some passengers change from rapid trains to local trains or vice versa at this station (however, since it sometimes occurs that passengers at this station must use stairs when changing trains, it would be better to use Nagao Station to do so, the last stop before this station in the inbound direction).
History
March 11, 1989: This station came into operation when the section between Kizu Station (Kyoto Prefecture) and Nagao Station (Osaka Prefecture) was electrified.
Adjacent stations
West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
Gakkentoshi Line (Katamachi Line)
Rapid/Regional Rapid/Local (In the direction of Kizu, all trains, regardless of their operation types, stop at each station.)
Osumi Station - Matsuiyamate Station - Nagao Station (Osaka Prefecture)