Chūden Station

Chūden Station (中田駅) is a passenger railway station located in the city of Komatsushima, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Shikoku and has the station number "M05".

Lines
Chūden Station is served by the Mugi Line and is located 9.2 km from the beginning of the line at Tokushima. Only local trains stop at the station.

Layout
The station consists of an island platform serving two tracks. A passing loop runs to the side of track 1 in between the platform and the station building. The station building is unstaffed and serves only as a waiting room. Access to the island platform is by means of a level crossing and ramp.

To the south of the station, the Komatsushima Line once branched off towards the railway facilities at Komatshima Port. At 1.9 km, the Komatsushima Line was the shortest line in the network of Japanese National Railways (JNR). The line was closed in 1985. The old Komatsushima Station and its environs has now been turned into a park where the station building and several steam locomotives are on display.

History
Chūden Station was opened on 15 December 1916 along a stretch of track laid down in 1913 by the Awa National Joint Steamship Company (阿波国共同汽船) between Tokushima and the port at Komatsushima (where the rail facilities are now closed). This was to serve as a transfer station for a stretch of track built by the Anan Railway (阿南鉄道) from Chūden to Hanoura and Furushō (now closed).

The Awa Steamship company was nationalized on 1 September 1917, and Japanese Government Railways (JGR) took over control of the station and operated it as part of the Komatsushima Light Railway and later, the Komatsushima Line. On 1 July 1936, the Anan Railway was nationalized and became part of the Mugi Line. On 1 April 1961, the starting point of the Mugi Line was shifted to Tokushima. Chūden now became the starting point of the Komatsushima Line. On 14 March 1985, the Komatsushima Line was closed and Chūden was then served only by the Mugi Line.

On 1 April 1987, with the privatization of Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor of JGR, JR Shikoku took over control of the station.

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2019, the station was used by an average of 888 passengers daily

Surrounding area

 * Komatsushima City Chiyo Elementary School
 * Tokushima Prefectural Komatsushima Nishi High School