Ikazaki Station

Ikazaki Station (五十崎駅) is a passenger railway station in the town of Uchiko, Kita District, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by JR Shikoku and has the station number "U11".

Lines
Although the station is officially on the Uchiko Line, JR Shikoku runs it operationally as part of Yosan Line and as such it only carries the "U" prefix common to other Yosan line stations. It is located 233.6 km from the beginning of the Yosan line at Takamatsu. Only local trains stop at the station. Eastbound local trains which serve the station terminate at Matsuyama while westbound local trains terminate at Iyo-Ōzu or Yawatahama. Connections with other services are needed to travel further east of Matsuyama or further west of Iyo-Ōzu/Yawatahama on the line.

Layout
Ikazaki Station consists of a side platform serving a single track. There is no station building, only a shelter on the platform for waiting passengers. A short flight of steps leads to the platform from the access road. There is limited parking and a bike shed near the base of the steps. A siding branches off the track at the station. One unique feature of the station is the position of the platform: some 20 m of it lies inside the Ikazaki Tunnel (1,106 m long) in the direction of Uchiko.

History
Ikazaki Station was opened on 1 February 1920 as a station of the private Ehime Railway (愛媛鉄道), a light railway line from Wakamiya Junction (若宮連絡所), near Nagahama-machi (the present Iyo-Nagahama) to Uchiko. On October 1, 1933, the line was nationalized and Japanese Government Railways (JGR) operated the station as part of the Ehime Line (愛媛線). On October 6, 1935, after the track had been re-gauged to 1,067 mm, the station became part of the Uchiko Line. Subsequently, Japanese National Railways (JNR), the successor of JGR, undertook the construction of the Uchiko branch of the Yosan Line which involved building a new stretch of track from Mukaibara to Uchiko. The track at Ikazaki was re-aligned and the position of the station moved. The new station reopened on 3 March 1986. It was still designated as a station on the Uchiko Line but was now operated as part of the Yosan Line. With the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, control of the station passed to JR Shikoku.

Surrounding area

 * Japan National Route 56