{{About|the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) station|the Sanyo Electric Railway station|Sanyo Himeji Station}} {{short description|Railway station in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan}} {{More citations needed|date=April 2017}} {{Infobox station | name = {{JRWSN|A|85}}<br/>Himeji Station | native_name = 姫路駅 | native_name_lang = ja | type = | style = JR West | image = JR Himeji Station 20200312.jpg | alt = | caption = North station complex and bus terminal at Himeji Station | other_name = | address = 188 Ekimaecho, Himeji-shi, Hyōgo-ken 670-0927 | country = Japan | coordinates = {{coord|34|49|39.5|N|134|41|27.06|E|type:railwaystation_region:JP|display=inline,title}} | operator = {{ric|JR West|name=y}} | line = {{Plainlist| * {{ric|JR West|Sanyo Shinkansen|name=y}} * {{RouteBox|A||#0072bc}} San'yō Main Line (JR Kobe Line) * {{RouteBox|J||#b11e52}} Bantan Line * {{RouteBox|K||#ff0600}} Kishin Line }} | distance = | platforms = 5 island + 1 side platform | tracks = | connections = 20px|SY Sanyo Electric Railway Main Line (at {{STN|Sanyo Himeji|x}}) | structure = Elevated | accessible = Yes | code = JR-A85 (JR Kobe Line) | status = Staffed | website = {{Official|1=https://www.jr-odekake.net/eki/top?id=0610619}} | opened = {{Start date and age|1888|12|23|df=y}} | rebuilt = | closed = | former = | passengers = 51,763 daily | pass_year = FY2019 | map_type = Japan Hyogo Prefecture#Japan | map_dot_label = Himeji Station | services = {{Adjstn|system=JR West|line=Sanyo Shinkansen |type1=Mizuho|left1=Okayama|right1=Shin-Kobe |type2=Sakura|left2=Okayama|right2=Shin-Kobe |type3=Nozomi|left4=Okayama|right4=Nishi-Akashi |type4=Hikari|left3=Okayama|right3=Nishi-Akashi |type5=Kodama|left5=Aioi|right5=Nishi-Akashi }} }} {{nihongo|'''Himeji Station'''|姫路駅|Himeji-eki}} is a major interchange railway station located in the city of Himeji, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Himeji is a major stop on the San'yō Main Line and the Sanyō Shinkansen, and the western end of the JR Kobe Line. The station building is located close to the Sanyo Electric Railway Himeji Station and Himeji Castle.
==Lines== Himeji Station is served by the JR San'yō Main Line, and is located 54.8 kilometers from the terminus of the line at {{STN|Kobe|x|Hyogo}} and 87.9 kilometers from {{STN|Osaka|x}}. On the Shinkansen network it is 91.7 kilometers from Shin-Osaka and 644.3 kilometers from {{STN|Tokyo|x}}. The 65.7 kilometer Bantan Line to {{STN|Wadayama|x}} and the 158.1 kilometer Kishin Line to {{STN|Niimi|x}} terminate at Himeji Station.
==Station layout== thumb|South entrance of Himeji Station The station has a complex layout of elevated platforms. The conventional trains operate from four island platforms, the first two of which have one dead-headed track each. The Shinkansen portion of the station has one side platform and one island platform with two passing tracks between them.
=== Platforms === {{ja-rail-line|pfn=1|first=2|nidx= 15px Bantan Line|lwidth=350|dir=for {{STN|Teramae|x}} and {{STN|Wadayama|x}}}} {{ja-rail-line|pfn=2|nidx= Limited Express ''Hamakaze''|col=#e80000|dir= for {{STN|Osaka|x}}}} {{ja-rail-line|pfn=3, 4|nidx= 15px Kishin Line|dir=for {{STN|Sayo|x}}}} {{ja-rail-line|pfn=5, 6|nidx= 15px San'yō Main Line|dir=for {{STN|Sannomiya|x|JR West|Sannomiya}} and {{STN|Osaka|x}}}} {{ja-rail-line|pfn=5|nidx=Limited Express ''Super Hakuto''|col=#e80000|dir= for {{STN|Kyoto|x}}}} {{ja-rail-line|pfn=7, 8|nidx= 15px San'yō Main Line|dir=for {{STN|Aioi|x|Hyōgo}}, {{STN|Banshū-Akō|x}} and {{STN|Kamigōri|x}}}} {{ja-rail-line|pfn=7|nidx= Limited Express ''Hamakaze''|col=#e80000|dir= for {{STN|Kinosaki Onsen|x}}}} {{ja-rail-line|pfn=7, 8|nidx= Limited Express ''Super Hakuto''|col=#e80000|dir= for {{STN|Tottori|x}} {{STN|Kurayoshi|x}}}} {{ja-rail-line|pfn=11|nidx= 18px San'yō Shinkansen|dir= for {{STN|Shin-Osaka|x}} and {{STN|Tokyo|x}}}} {{ja-rail-line|pfn=12,13|first=3|nidx= 18px San'yō Shinkansen|dir= for {{STN|Okayama|x}}, {{STN|Hakata|x}} and {{STN|Kagoshima-Chūō|x}}}}
== Adjacent stations ==
{{j-railservice start}} {{j-route|route=San'yō Main Line (JR Kobe Line)|col=#0072bc|f=w}} {{j-rserv|service=Sleeper Limited Express<br />''Sunrise Seto'' & ''Sunrise Izumo''|col=red|previous={{STN|Hamamatsu|x}} {{JRCSN|CA|34|size=25}} (westbound)<br />Sannomiya (JR-A61) (eastbound)|next={{STN|Okayama|x}}}} {{j-rserv|previous={{STN|Nishi-Akashi|x}} (JR-A74)<br />(One-way Operation)|next={{STN|Shoyama|x}}|service=West Express Ginga (San'in Route)|col=navy}} {{j-rserv|previous=Nishi-Akashi (JR-A74)|next={{STN|Okayama|x}} (JR-S01) (JR-W01)|service=West Express Ginga (San'yo Route)|col=navy}} {{j-rserv|service=Limited Express<br />''Super Hakuto''|previous={{STN|Akashi|x}} (JR-A73)<br />{{STN|Kakogawa|x}} (JR-A79) (No. 13 only)|next={{STN|Aioi|x|Hyogo}} or {{STN|Kamigori|x}}|col=blue}} {{j-rserv|service=Commuter Limited Express<br />''Rakuraku Harima''|previous=Kakogawa (JR-A79)|col=purple}} {{j-rserv|service=Special Rapid Service|previous=Kakogawa (JR-A79)|next={{STN|Tegarayamaheiwakōen|x}}|col=#0072bc}} {{j-rserv|service=Local (Rapid Service)|previous={{STN|Higashi-Himeji|x}} (JR-A84)|next=Tegarayamaheiwakōen|col=#f60}} {{j-route|route=Bantan Line|col=#0072bc|f=w}} {{j-rserv|service=Limited Express<br />''Hamakaze''|previous=Akashi (JR-A73)<br />Kakogawa (JR-A79) (No. 5 only)|next={{STN|Fukusaki|x}}|col=red}} {{j-rserv|service=Local|next={{STN|Kyoguchi|x}}|col=gray}} {{j-route|route=Kishin Line|col=#ff4500|f=w}} {{j-rserv|service=Local|next={{STN|Harima-Takaoka|x}}|col=gray}} {{End box}}
== History == Himeji Station was opened by Sanyo Railway, the present-day San'yō Main Line, in 1888. At the time, railway stations were usually built either outside or alongside urban areas,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.kochi-tech.ac.jp/library/ron/2002/g5/infr/1055154.pdf|title = A comparative study of the relation between the elevated railroad project and urban area development in western-part-of-Japan (Kochi University of Technorogy Library)|access-date = February 22, 2007|language=ja |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050413005207/http://www.kochi-tech.ac.jp/library/ron/2002/g5/infr/1055154.pdf |archive-date=2005-04-13}}</ref> but Himeji Station was built bordering the old city walls, at the end of the main street (Ootemae-dori). The current Sanyo Railway Station is actually constructed on top of part of the old city wall.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.himeji.jp/himeji_jyo/gaiyo.htm|title = Outline of Himeji castle |publisher=Himeji Information Web site |language=ja |access-date = February 22, 2007}}</ref> It is thought that the reason was that the army was based in Himeji Castle. This proximity to the city helped to contribute to urban development.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city.himeji.hyogo.jp/tkeikaku/master/master.html |title=Master plan of Himeji city |publisher=Himeji city office |language=ja |access-date=February 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208193620/http://www.city.himeji.hyogo.jp/tkeikaku/master/master.html |archive-date=February 8, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Himeji Station was linked to {{Nihongo|Bantan Railway|播但鉄道|Bantan Tetsudō}}, the present day Bantan Line, in 1894. Kishin Line was linked to the station in 1930.
The station was expanded with the opening of the Sanyo Shinkansen in 1972.
Preparation for the elevation of the conventional lines had been undertaken since 1989, and begun in earnest in 1994 after the relocation of Himeji's freight terminal and train yards. On March 26, 2006, platforms for the JR Kobe Line and Sanyo Main Line switched to the elevated railway. Platforms for the Bantan and Kishin Lines were elevated beginning on December 22, 2008.
===Timeline=== {{Unreferenced section|date=April 2017}} * December 23, 1888: The Sanyo Railway segment between Akashi Station and Himeji Station opens. * July 26, 1894: The Bantan Railway segment between Himeji Station and Teramae Station opens. * June 1, 1903: Sanyo Railway purchases Bantan Railway. * December 1, 1906: Sanyo Railway is nationalized. * September 1, 1930: Kishin Line is connected. * March 15, 1972: The Sanyo Shinkansen segment between Okayama and Shin-Osaka opens. * April 1, 1987: Japanese National Railways is divided and privatized. The line is taken over by the West Japan Railway Company. * January 17, 1995: There was a blockage of the segment of the Sanyō Shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Himeji, caused by the Great Hanshin earthquake. * April 8, 1995: The blocked section reopens. * October 1, 2003: ''Nozomi'' service is added to the schedule. * March 15, 2014: ''Mizuho'' service is added to the schedule. * March 2018: Introduction of station numbering to the Kobe Line as Himeji was assigned station number JR-A85.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 July 2016 |title=近畿エリアの12路線 のべ300駅に「駅ナンバー」を導入します！ |trans-title="Station numbers" will be introduced at a total of 300 stations on 12 lines in the Kinki area! |url=https://www.westjr.co.jp/press/article/2016/07/page_8973.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116010608/https://www.westjr.co.jp/press/article/2016/07/page_8973.html |archive-date=16 November 2022 |access-date=30 December 2022 |website=westjr.co.jp |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 July 2016 |title=「駅ナンバー」一覧表 |trans-title="Station number" list |url=https://www.westjr.co.jp/press/article/items/160720_01_ekinumber.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116010610/https://www.westjr.co.jp/press/article/items/160720_01_ekinumber.pdf |archive-date=16 November 2022 |access-date=30 December 2022 |website=westjr.co.jp |language=ja}}</ref>
==Passenger statistics== In fiscal 2016, the station was used by an average of 51,763 passengers daily (boarding passengers only).<ref name="Hyogo2019 stats">{{cite web|url=https://web.pref.hyogo.lg.jp/kk11/ac08_1_000000124.html|script-title=ja:兵庫県統計書令和元年(2019) |trans-title= Hyogo Prefectural Statistics Reiwa First Year (2019)|year= 2019|publisher= Hyogo Prefecture|location= Japan|language= Japanese|archiveurl= |archivedate= |accessdate= 11 May 2022}}</ref>
==See also== *List of railway stations in Japan
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline}} * [https://www.jr-odekake.net/eki/top?id=0610619 JR West Station Official Site]
{{Navboxes|list1= {{Sanyo Shinkansen}} {{Kōbe Line}} {{San'yō Main Line (Okayama segment)}} {{Bantan Line}} {{Akō Line}} {{JR Kishin Line}} }}
Category:Railway stations in Japan opened in 1888 Category:JR Kobe Line Category:Railway stations in Himeji Category:Sanyō Main Line Category:Sanyō Shinkansen