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Umi-Shibaura Station

is a railway station on the Tsurumi Line in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The station is located on the grounds of Toshiba's Keihin Product Operations, and the only exit from the station is into the company's grounds. As a result, only Toshiba employees with valid employee ID cards and invited visitors are permitted to exit the station. A small park next to the station is open for public use; however there is no pedestrian exit from the station or park and anyone other than authorised Toshiba employees or visitors must exit by using a train.

Lines

Umi-Shibaura station is the terminus of the Umi-Shibaura branch of the Tsurumi Line and lies from the terminus at Tsurumi Station.

Services

Trains operate frequently during weekday morning and afternoon peak periods, but at other times there are gaps of up to 1½ hours between trains.

Station layout

A single side platform, located on the waterfront of Tokyo Bay, for both inbound and outbound trains. The exit is located opposite the buffer stop, with pole-mounted Entry and Exit IC Card readers and a boarding certificate issuing machine. There are no ticket gates or ticket vending machine.

Platform

Service

Umi-Shibaura is served hourly during off-peak times (midday, night and weekends), with more frequent services during morning and evening rush hours.

History

Umi-Shibaura Station was opened on 1 November 1940 as a station on a spur line of the privately held . The Tsurumi Rinkō line was nationalized on 1 July 1943, and was later absorbed into the Japanese National Railways (JNR) network. The station has been unstaffed since 1 March 1971, although the adjacent Toshiba guardhouse is staffed 24 hours a day. Following the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the station was transferred to operation by JR East. In 2000, Umi-Shibaura Station was selected as one of the top 100 stations in the Kantō region by a public poll conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Surrounding area

Toshiba owns the land beneath the station and the surrounding portion of the Tsurumi Line, and JR East operates both under a long-term lease. Because of the surrounding scenery, and its status as "the station which you can never leave", Umi-Shibaura has been featured in several books and television programs and has gained some popularity as a day-trip destination. Toshiba has catered to these tourists by constructing a small park (Umishiba Park) within the station for employees and waiting passengers; it is open to the public (during business hours) and has a sweeping view of Tokyo Bay.

References

  • Harris, Ken and Clarke, Jackie. Jane's World Railways 2008-2009. Jane's Information Group (2008).

External links