Tateno Station (Kumamoto)

Tateno Station (立野駅) is a railway station in Minamiaso, Kumamoto, Japan. It is jointly operated by JR Kyushu and the Minami Aso Railway and is a transfer station between the JR Kyushu Hōhi Main Line and the Minami Aso Takamori Line. The station has a three-stage switchback that trains need to execute in order to proceed to Akamizu, the next station on the Hōhi Main Line.

History
On 21 June 1914, Japanese Government Railways (JGR) opened the Miyaji Light Rail Line (宮地軽便線) (later the Miyaji Line) from Kumamoto eastwards to Higo-Ōzu. The line was extended eastward in phases and Tateno was opened as the new eastern terminal on 11 November 1916. It became a through-station on 25 January 1918 when the track was extended further to Miyaji. 12 February 1928, the section between Tateno and Takamori opened as a branch line of the Miyaji Line. By 2 December 1928, the track at Miyaji was linked up with the Inukai Line (犬飼線), which had been extended westwards in phases from Ōita since 1914. Through-traffic was established between Kumamoto and Ōita. The two lines were merged and the entire stretch renamed to the Hōhi Main Line. On the same day, the Miyaji Line branch line between Tateno and Takamori was separated into the Takamori Line. On 1 April 1986, the Takamori Line was converted from the Japanese National Railways (JNR) to the Minami Aso Railway operated by the third sector. With the privatization of JNR, the successor of JNR, on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR Kyushu.

On 14 April 2016, operation of the station was suspended due to landslides caused by the Kumamoto earthquake. On 8 August 2020, Tateno Station reopened only for JR services due to the resumption of operations between Higo-Ōzu and Aso on the JR Hohi Main Line. The new Tateno station building was completed on 31, March 2023.

On 15 July 2023, Minami Aso Railway Takamori Line between Tateno and Nakamatsu was restored and all lines resumed operation. Minami-Aso Railway trains began direct service to JR Higo-Ōzu Station via this station.

Lines
The station is served by the Hōhi Main Line and is located 32.3 km from the starting point of the line at Kumamoto. It is also the starting point for the Takamori Line.

Layout
A station jointly used by JR Kyushu, which has an island one platform and two tracks, and the Minami Aso Railway, which has a single platform for one track. Although it is an unmanned station, the station building has elevators and ramps, and toilets are installed on the waiting room floor and the platform floor (the multipurpose toilet is on the waiting room floor).

The JR Tateno Station platform is an above-ground station with one platform and two tracks.Go down from the station building to the lower floor and cross the railroad crossing on the premises to contact. Before the earthquake, it was connected to the platform after going down the connecting stairs from the station square and crossing the railroad crossing inside the JR station building on the right. The platform was 120 meters (393.7ft) long before the restoration work after the earthquake, but it was shortened to 91 meters (298.5ft) during the restoration work, and the damaged shed was replaced with a new one. In addition, the station building where the waiting room was located was demolished in March 2020, and the automatic ticket vending machine inside the station building was moved to the platform. The railroad crossing on the premises is set up to prevent trains from deviating from trains going to the depot line, and it currently serves as a countermeasure against trains entering Platform 1 (Higo-Ōzu) from the Minamiaso Railway Takamori Line.
 * JR Tateno station platform

Tateno Station on the Minamiaso Railway is an above-ground station with one track per platform.The Minami Aso Railway platform, which was renovated in 2023, is located behind the connecting stairs down from the station building.On the west side of the platform (in the direction of the JR platform), there is a connection point between the storage track and the Hohi Line.The station office and trolley train ticket office are installed on the Minamiaso Railway platform, just as they were before the earthquake.The platform of the Takamori Line before the earthquake (same as JR) is on the left hand side after going down the connecting stairs from the station square, and the Minami Aso Railway Tateno Station bookstore was built on the platform of the Takamori Line.
 * Minami-Aso Railway Tateno Station platform

Past station structure
The station consists of two island platforms serving three tracks. The station forecourt/parking area is located at a higher level than the platforms. From there, a flight of steps descends to the first island platform. The station buildings for both the Minami Aso Railway and JR Kyushu are located on this platform, which also serves the Takamori Line. From the JR Kyushu station, a level crossing gives access to the other island platform which serves two Hōhi Main Line tracks. Both station buildings are unstaffed and serve as waiting rooms. A souvenir shop is located at the station forecourt.

Gallery

 * Before the 2016 earthquake

Switchback
Tateno station is located at an altitude of 277 m while the next station, Akamizu, 7.9 km (by rail) away, is at 465 m. In order to achieve a practical gradient while ascending 190 m within this distance, trains need to execute a three-stage switchback (changing directions twice) after leaving the station. Trains approaching from Seta enter Tateno from the west. They then reverse direction and exit the station westward to a point at altitude of 306 m where they reverse direction again onto a track heading for the next station. A signboard on the Tateno Station platform gives passengers a detailed guide to this procedure. The tracks of this switchback were severely damaged by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes.