Okutsugaru-Imabetsu Station


Okutsugaru-Imabetsu Station is a railway station on the Hokkaido Shinkansen in the town of Imabetsu, Aomori Prefecture, on the island of Honshu, Japan. It is operated by Hokkaido Railway Company, and is the last stop in Honshu before the Seikan Tunnel to Hokkaido.

Lines

Okusugaru-Imabetsu Station is served by the Hokkaido Shinkansen between Tokyo or Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. It used to be served by the Kaikyō Line between and prior to the opening of the Hokkaido Shinkansen. After the opening of the shinkansen line, the Kaikyō Line is normally used by freight trains only.

Station layout

Before the Hokkaido Shinkansen stations were made, Tsugaru-Imabetsu Station had two opposed side platforms serving two tracks. There was no station building, but only a small weather shelter on the platform. The station was unattended.
Although the station is in the middle of the 82-kilometer section shared by the standard-gauge Hokkaido Shinkansen and the-narrow gauge Kaikyō Line, narrow gauge trains use separate tracks on the both sides of the shinkansen station so that only shinkansen trains pass through the passenger platforms.
It is physically connected to Tsugaru-Futamata Station on the JR East Tsugaru Line by an underground passage.

Platforms

History

Tsugaru-Imabetsu Station on the Kaikyō Line opened on March 13, 1988. From 2002, only the limited express Hakuchō services stopped at this station. According to the 2015 timetable, there were two trains per day in each direction.
From March 26, 2016, the station became a stop on the Hokkaido Shinkansen, renamed Okutsugaru-Imabetsu. As the work to convert the Tsugaru-Imabetsu Station into the Shinkansen station was in progress, passenger services at the station were suspended from August 10, 2015. From August 2015, there were no train services at this station due to the work to convert the station to a stop on the high-speed line.

Surrounding area