is a passenger

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

located in the city of Sakurai,

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

, Japan. Although the station is on the

Sakurai Line The is a railway line operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Nara Prefecture. It connects Nara Station, Nara on the Yamatoji Line to Takada Station (Nara), Takada on the Wakayama Line, with some services continuing on the Wakayama L ...

as rail infrastructure, it has been served by the Man-yō Mahoroba Line since 2010 in terms of passenger train services. Sakurai Station is also served by the

Osaka Line The is a railway line in Japan owned by Kintetsu Railway, connecting Osaka and Mie Prefecture via Nara Prefecture. The line is the longest double-tracked railway of non-JR operators. Together with the Nagoya Line, this line forms the route for ...

of the

Kintetsu Railway , referred to as and officially Kinki-Nippon Railway, is a Japanese passenger railway company, managing infrastructure and operating passenger train service. Its railway system is the largest in Japan, excluding Japan Railways Group. The railw ...

. Contactless

smart cards A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

including ICOCA (JR-West) and

PiTaPa PiTaPa () is a contactless smart card ticketing and electronic money system used predominantly the Kansai region of Japan. The name ''PiTaPa'' from "Postpay IC for Touch and Pay". In the Osaka area, PiTaPa is usable on the Osaka Municipal Subw ...

(Surutto KANSAI) are available on both rail systems.

Lines

JR-West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

** Man-yō Mahoroba Line * KintetsuLogo

Layout

The elevated Kintetsu Osaka Line and the ground JR-West Sakurai Line are connected by a footbridge.

JR-West platforms

The JR-West station has one

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...

and one

island platform An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...

serving three tracks. The station has a '' Midori on Madoguchi'' staffed ticket office.

Kintetsu Railway platforms

The Kintetsu station has two side platforms serving one track each. 近鉄大阪線桜井駅 Sakurai station, Kintetsu Ōsaka line 2011.2.06 - panoramio.jpg, Sakurai Station north entrance in February 2011

History

Sakurai Station opened on 23 May 1893 as the terminus of the Osaka Railway from Takada Station. The Nara Railway connected to the station on 11 May 1898. In 1900 the Osaka Railway was acquired by the Kansai Railway, and the Nara Railway was likewise acquired by the Kansai Railway in 1905. The Kansai Railway was nationalized in 1907. On 11 December 1909, the Hatsuse Tramway opens between Sakurai Station and Hatsuse Station; this line was renamed the Hatsuse Railway in 1912 and the Hase Railway in 1915. On 8 January 1928, the Hase Railway was acquired by the Osaka Electric Tramway, which merged with the Sangu Express Railway in 1941 to become the Kansai Express Railway. In 1944, the Kansai Express Railway became part of the Kintetsu Railway. With the privatisation of the JNR on 1 April 1987, the what is now the JR portion of the station became parts of the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). A new station building was completed on 10 March 1995, at which the exit gates for the JR and Kintetsu portions of the station were separated. With the privatization of the

Japan National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

(JNR) on April 1, 1987, the station came under the control of West Japan Railway Company (JR West).

Passenger statistics

The average daily passenger traffic for the JR portion of the station in fiscal 2020 was 1995 passengers. During discal 2019, the Kintetsu portion of the station was used by 8,435 passengers daily.Nara Prefecture Statistical Yearbook 2021 Chapter 13: Transportation and Communications - JR Transportation Performance
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Surrounding area

* Sakurai City Hall *Nara Prefectural Sakurai High School *Nara Prefectural Commercial High School

References

External links

Official website (JR-West)
* Railway stations in Japan opened in 1893 Railway stations in Japan opened in 1929 Railway stations in Nara Prefecture Sakurai, Nara {{Nara-railstation-stub