Maebashi Station

Maebashi Station (前橋駅) is a passenger railway station in the city of Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of two main railway stations of Maebashi; the other is Chūō Maebashi Station of the private railway operator Jōmō Electric Railway. Maebashi Station was renovated in 2020 into an "Ecoste" station. A train station with focus on environmental conservation.

Synopsis
Maebashi Station is the main station for the city of Maebashi, which is the prefectural capital city of Gunma Prefecture. Even though it is the main station of the capital city of Gunma, its lack of important train lines (Such as Shinkansen, Takasaki Line, Joetsu Line) make Takasaki Station the most important station in Gunma Prefecture. In addition, despite being the main station of Maebashi, Chūō Maebashi Station is closer to the city center.

Lines
Maebashi Station is served by the Ryōmō Line, and is located 81.9 km from the starting point of the line at Oyama Station, and 9.8 km from Takasaki Station. The preceding station of Maebashi-Ōshima is 5.8 km away and the following station of Shin-Maebashi is 3.2 km away. Some Shōnan Shinjuku Line and the Ueno-Tokyo Line services also originate at this station.

Station layout
The station consists of two elevated island platforms serving three tracks, with the station building underneath. The station has a Midori no Madoguchi ticket office and has coin lockers. The station has many accessibility features such as escalators, elevators, Mobility scooter access, wheelchair-accessible bathroom, and a Braille Fare table.

Station facilities

 * VIEW ALTTE (JR East ATM)
 * NewDays Maebashi
 * Bakery
 * E'site Maebashi
 * McDonald's JR Maebashi Station
 * VentoMaebashi
 * Maebashi Station Tourist Information Center
 * Maebashi Station Bus Information Center
 * Pizzeria Pesca JR Maebashi Station South Exit
 * Gunma Bank, Towa Bank ATM corner

History
Maebashi Station was opened by Ryōmō Railway on November 20, 1889. From August 20, 1884, Nippon Railway operated another Maebashi Station on the other side of the Tone River, but this station was closed on December 26, 1889, when a bridge across the river was completed and Nippon Railway trains began sharing the Ryōmō Railway station. Ryōmō Railway was merged into Nippon Railway on January 1, 1897, and Nippon Railway was nationalized on November 1, 1906.

The station started accepting Suica cards on November 18, 2001. In 2020, the station was renovated under the "Ecoste" model. The goal was to reduced emission by 69 tons (roughly 24% from 2016).

Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2021, the station was used by an average of 7,901 passengers daily (boarding passengers only).

Below is table containing the passenger statistics since the year 2000:

North exit

 * Taxi stand
 * Aquel Maebashi
 * ORIX car rental
 * Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Maebashi Branch
 * Towa Bank Head Office Sales Department
 * Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Maebashi Branch
 * Mizuho Bank Maebashi Branch
 * Resona Bank Maebashi Branch
 * Ashikaga bank Maebashi Branch
 * Tochigi Bank Maebashi Branch
 * Yokohama Bank Maebashi Branch
 * Taiko Bank Maebashi Branch
 * Mizuho Trust & Banking Maebashi Branch
 * Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Maebashi Branch
 * Maebashi Omotemachi Post Office
 * Maebashi Police Station Ekimae Koban
 * La Fontaine (Wedding Hall)
 * Daishi Hokuetsu Bank Maebashi Higashi Branch

South Exit

 * Taxi stand
 * Toyoko Inn Maebashi Ekimae
 * Chuo Sogo Gakuin Vocational Education Center
 * Maebashi Civic Cultural Center
 * Maebashi Bunka Fashion College
 * TEPCO Maebashi branch office
 * Gunma Bank Maebashi Station South Branch
 * Maebashi Minamimachi Post Office
 * Gunma Red Cross Blood Center Blood Donation Room Maebashi Heartland (Daido Seimei Building 1F)
 * Gunma Nikken Technical College
 * Keyaki Walk Maebashi