Jōetsumyōkō Station is served by the Echigo Tokimeki Railway Myōkō Haneuma Line and the high-speed Hokuriku Shinkansen, which opened for service on 14 March 2015.[2] It replaced Wakinoda Station on the Shinetsu Main Line, located approximately 120 m away.[1] The journey from Tokyo via the Hokuriku Shinkansen takes 1 hour 48 minutes.[3] Only Hakutaka services stop at Jōetsumyōkō on the Hokuriku Shinkansen.[4]
Station layout
The new station consists of two elevated island platforms serving four tracks on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, with a ground-level island platform serving two tracks for the Myōkō Haneuma Line.[2][5] The station has a "Midori no Madoguchi" staffed ticket office and also a "View Plaza" travel agent.
The ticket barriers leading to the Shinkansen platforms
The ticket barriers leading to the Haneuma Line platform
The Haneuma Line platform in January 2015
View from the observation deck
History
Jōetsumyōkō Station under construction in July 2014
Initially provisionally named Jōetsu Station (上越駅), the name Jōetsumyōkō Station was formally announced in June 2013.[6] Construction was completed in October 2014.[1] It opened on 14 March 2015, coinciding with the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen extension from Nagano.[1]
Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2017, the Myōkō Hanauma Line portion of the station was used by an average of 934 passengers daily (boarding passengers only).[7] In fiscal 2017, the JR portion of the station was used by an average of 2,131 passengers daily (boarding passengers only).[8]
Surrounding area
The station is located on the southern side of the Takada district of Jōetsu city, about 1.5 km from the border with Myōkō. The area was largely rice paddies with some houses, shops and factories along nearby Japan National Route 18; however, with the opening of the Shinkansen line, the area is rapidly urbanising.
^ abcdTokunaga, Yasushi (December 2013). 上越妙高駅に生まれ変わる脇野田駅 [Wakinoda Station to be reborn as Joetsu-Myoko Station]. Japan Railfan Magazine (in Japanese). 53 (632). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd.: 26–27.
^ abOsano, Kagetoshi (March 2015). 北陸新幹線並行在来線各社の姿 [Guide to companies operating conventional lines alongside the Hokuriku Shinkansen]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine (in Japanese). 44 (371). Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun: 28–33.
^北陸新幹線の概要 [Hokuriku Shinkansen Overview] (in Japanese). Japan: Joetsu City. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
^上越市新幹線駅周辺地区まちなみ形成構想 [Surrounding area of shinkansen station in Joetsu] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: Joetsu City. Archived from the original(PDF) on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
^北陸新幹線の新駅（仮称：上越駅）の駅名について [Details of station name for new station on Hokuriku Shinkansen] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: East Japan Railway Company. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
