Nishi-Maizuru Station (西舞鶴駅)
Located in 213-1 Aza Komoike-nishi, Isazu, Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture, Nishi-Maizuru Station is a station owned by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Kitakinki Tango Railway Corporation (KTR).
It opened as Maizuru Station in 1904 but was renamed Nishi-Maizuru Station in 1944, following municipal merger and expansion of the area of Maizuru City.
Lines
West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
Kitakinki Tango Railway Corporation (KTR)
KTR Miyazu Line *starting station
Station layout
Nishi-Maizuru Station is an aboveground station with one island platform and one single platform serving three tracks used by JR; in addition, a part of the opposite side of the single platform, which serves trains for Ayabe Station, has been cut away to create a single platform serving one track for the KTR Miyazu Line. It is a raised station with exits on both the East and West sides. The ticket gate for the KTR line is located on the west side of the first floor and that for the JR lines is located halfway along the second floor.
While Platform 4 is on a single platform, Platform 2 and Platform 3 are on an island platform. Platform 1 is a platformless storage track that runs alongside Platform 2 and is often used as a waiting space for the Limited Express 'Maizuru' from Higashi-Maizuru Station when not in service. There is a barrier between JR Platform 4 and the KTR platform, although passengers can change trains using an accessway through the KTR ticket gate. This accessway is closed at night, but passengers can change trains through a gate in the barrier which is opened instead. Trains that arrive at and leave from Platform 4, however, are very rare with Platform 2 and Platform 3 being used for JR trains almost entirely during the day, and thus there are only a few cases where passengers need to use the accessway. Kitakinki Tango Railway Corporation owns a rail yard on the east side of the station.
In the station building, there is a kiosk and a relatively large waiting room with a television set. The Maizuru branch of Nippon Travel Agency Co., Ltd. used to be on the first floor of the station building but it closed on February 29, 2008. There is a prefectural passport office on the second floor.
Nishi-Maizuru Station used to be a fairly large and important station for Maizuru Railways Department, with many storage tracks, most of which were removed when the station was rebuilt as a raised station on September 25, 1999, and now only one (the Platform 1 mentioned earlier) remains. A shopping mall has been constructed on the site of the tracks.
The major platforms to be used are Platform 2, which is used for outbound trains to Higashi-Maizuru, and Platform 3, which is used for inbound trains to Ayabe. Platform 4 is basically used only early in the morning and in the evening.
Passenger use
JR West
In fiscal year 2006, the number of passengers who used the station was about 1,255 a day.
(according to the Kyoto Prefecture Statistics Report)
Kitakinki Tango Railway Corporation
In fiscal year 2006, the number of passengers who used the station was about 340 a day.
(according to the Kyoto Prefecture Statistics Report)
It is a hub station in the Nishi-Maizuru urban area. Nishi-Maizuru has a long history of commerce and quite a few people use this station for shopping as well as for commuting. In addition, since the main administrative district of Maizuru City, which is a major city in northern Kyoto, and the Kuratani industrial complex are located nearby, the station is also used a lot for business purposes. All trains that run on the Maizuru Line stop at this station, and it is also a terminus for Kitakinki Tango Railway.
Station surroundings
The West and East exits were rebuilt when the station facility was raised. Since the ticket gate of the old station was situated at the West Exit, this area is more developed. The watchtower of Tanabe-jo Castle (Tango Province) has been moved to this area; there is a budget hotel and also a Yoshinoya and a Mister Donut about two minutes walk from the West Exit. It takes about four minutes on foot from the station to Tanabe-jo Castle.
The site of the rail yard which used to be near the East Exit is now a vacant lot although there is a supermarket five minutes walk away.
West Exit
Maizuru City Office, West Branch Office
Kyoto District Court, Maizuru Branch
Maizuru Police Station (former Maizuru West Police Station)
Tanabe-jo Castle (Tango Province) (four-minute walk from the station)
The Bank of Kyoto, Nishi-Maizuru Office
The Fukui Bank, Maizuru Office
The Fukuho Bank, Maizuru Office
Kyoto Hokuto Shinkin Bank, Maizuru Central Branch Office
Credit Guarantee Corporation of Kyoto, Chutan Branch Office
Maizuru branch store of Sato (Kyoto Prefecture)
National Life Finance Corporation (NLFC), Maizuru Office
Maizuru Kamaboko Cooperative Society (Furusato Maizuru Bin)
Enryu-ji Temple (Maizuru City)
Asashiro-jinja Shrine - Former prefectural shrine
Hongyo-ji Temple - Takatomo KYOGOKU family temple
East Exit
Sato shopping center (Kyoto Prefecture)
Joshin Pit One electrical goods store, Nishi-Maizuru branch
Kuratani industrial complex (Kyoto Prefecture)
Maizuru Plant of Kirin Beverage Company, Limited
Nishi-Nihon Plant of Kenko Mayonnaise Co., Ltd.
Maizuru Plant of Hinode Kagaku Kogyo Kaisha, Ltd.
Bus services
Kyoto Kotsu (Maizuru)
Expressway bus services to Kyoto Station, Osaka Nanba Station, Kobe Sannomiya, and Tokyo (Hamamatsucho and Shinagawa)
History
November 3, 1904: Opened as a Maizuru Station of Japan National Railways (JNR)
Station leased to Hankaku Railway on the same day. Passenger and freight services started.
August 1, 1907: Hankaku Railway nationalized.
April 1, 1944: Name changed to Nishi-Maizuru Station.
January 21, 1984: Freight services discontinued.
March 14, 1985: Freight feeder line (Maizuruko Line) to Maizuruko Station discontinued.
April 1, 1987: Ownership changed to JR West following division and privatization of JNR.
September 25, 1999: Station building rebuilt as elevated station.
Adjacent stations
* For information on the next stops of the JR West Limited Expresses 'Maizuru' and 'Tango Discovery,' refer to the article for that train; similarly, for information on the next stop of rapid trains operated on the KTR Miyazu Line, refer to the list of stations and connection lines of the KTR Miyazu Line.
West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
Magura Station - Nishi-Maizuru Station - Higashi-Maizuru Station
Kitakinki Tango Railway
Miyazu Line
Nishi-Maizuru Station - Shisho Station
Others
It was included in 2001's Second Selection of 100 Famous Stations in the Kinki Region.
Ekiben (lunch boxes available at some stations and on some trains) were available until 2005.