Shimoji and Funamachi, which Meitetsu passes by unnoticed If you look at the timetable index map of the Tokai region, you will find Funamachi and Shimoji stations to the west of Toyohashi Station. Both are stations on the JR Tokai and Iida lines. However, when looking at this location on the map, it appears that the Meitetsu Nagoya Line is also combined with the Meitetsu Nagoya Line. As mentioned in the 57th issue, the Iida Line and the Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line share the track from Toyohashi Station to Hirai Signal Station. Funamachi Station and Shimoji Station are located in the middle of this shared section. However, since these two stations are “Iida Line stations,” all trains on the Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line pass through these stations without passing through them. For the Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line, these stations “physically exist, but logically do not exist.
Hakubi Line station that Hakubi Line trains pass through without stopping. A similar story can be found in the mountains of the Chugoku region. The Hakubi Line connects Kurashiki with Yonago and Izumo City. Niimi Station is located in the middle of the line, where the Himeji Himeji Line merges with the Hakubi Line. The Geibi Line branches off to the west, not from Niimi Station, but from Bicchu-Kamishiro Station, two stations away in the direction of Yonago. Between Niimi and Bicchu-Kamishiro stations, there is a station called Nunohara. Although this is a station on the Hakubi Line, no Hakubi Line trains stop there. Even if they do stop, it is for the purpose of passing an oncoming train, not for boarding or alighting. In the industry’s terminology, this is called a “stop. All trains that stop at Nunohara Station are direct trains from Niimi to Geibi Line via Bicchu-Kamishiro. Therefore, to get to Nunohara Station on the Hakubi Line, one must look at the timetable of the Geibi Line, not the Hakubi Line. In the past, Nunohara Station was a signal station for trains going to and from the Geibi Line, and it also used to handle passengers. Around 1970, the station was known for a triple train of D51 steam locomotives passing through here, and many people came to take pictures of them. However, the station was originally surrounded by a remote mountain village with very few houses. One can only guess at the number of users. The station is also said to have a platform length of only one car (the shortest regular train on the Hakubi Line is two-car trains).
Funamachi, Shimoji, and Nunohara stations have a station on only one of the lines. However, this is not the only case. There are also stations that “have a station on the map or route map, but when you go to the station, you find that there is no platform and you are passed by without going through. It is not unusual for a station to have a platform only on the slow line, which is a double track system that separates the slow and fast lines. Then, how about a double track line that is not separated from the slow and fast lines? Let’s start with Hankyu Corporation. Between Osaka Umeda and Juso, the Kyoto, Takarazuka, and Kobe lines are lined up in order from east to west, making a triple track. The index map in the timetable shows the stations as Osaka-Umeda – Nakatsu – Juso. However, only the Takarazuka and Kobe lines have platforms at Nakatsu Station, while the Kyoto line has no platform. Therefore, if one wanted to go to Nakatsu Station, one would have to take the Takarazuka Line or Kobe Line local train. If you take a nonstop train on the Kyoto Line without knowing it, you will not be able to get off the train. The story goes that this is because there was no land available when the triple track was built. From there, we went south, this time on the Nankai Electric Railway. Looking at the index map of the timetable, stations are lined up: Namba – Imamiya Ebisu – Shin-Imamiya – Haginochaya – Tenga-chaya. The east side of the line is on the Koya Line, and the west side is on the Nankai Main Line, which is a double-track line. However, Imamiya Ebisu and Haginochaya stations have only platforms for the Koya Line. Trains on the Nankai Main Line pass through without passing through, so passengers must take the Koya Line’s local train. Because of this situation, it is interesting to note that the term “kōkō eki-tekushō” is used differently on the Koya Line, while the term “nankai” is used on the Nankai Main Line.
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