Karuizawa Station

Karuizawa Station 軽井沢駅
North side of the station
Location
Prefecture	Nagano (See other stations in Nagano)
District	Kitasaku
Town	Karuizawa
Neighborhood etc.	Karuizawa
(in Japanese)	長野県北佐久郡軽井沢町軽井沢
History
Year opened	1888
Rail services
Operator(s)	JR East Shinano Railway
Line(s)	Nagano Shinkansen Shinano Railway Line

Shinkansen gate (from inside)

Karuizawa Station (軽井沢駅, Karuizawa Eki) is a train station located in Karuizawa in Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

Lines

• East Japan Railway Company (JR East)
  • Nagano Shinkansen (Hokuriku Shinkansen)
• Shinano Railway
  • Shinano Railway Line

History

Preserved old station building

The station began service on December 1, 1888 as the terminal of the government railway between Naoetsu (near the Sea of Japan coast) and Karuizawa. The line was extended from Karuizawa to Yokokawa through the Usui Pass on April 1, 1893, completing the trunk line between Takasaki (connecting to a Nippon Railway line to Ueno Station in Tokyo) and Naoetsu which was later named the Shinetsu Main Line. At Karuizawa, all trains were coupled with or separated from helper locomotives that were required for all trains to went through the Usui Pass section.

When the Japanese National Railways were divided and privatized on April 1, 1987, Shinetsu Main Line became a part of the system of East Japan Railway Company (JR East). On October 1, 1997, JR East started the service of the Hokuriku Shinkansen with a stop at Karuizawa. At the same time, JR East ceased to operate the conventional Shinetsu Main Line between Yokokawa and Shinonoi, of which between Yokokawa and Karuizawa (Usui Pass) was closed permanently and the remaining section was transferred to Shinano Railway. Since then Karuizawa Station has been shared by JR East and Shinano Railway.

Layout

JR East

1・2	■Nagano Shinkansen	for Takasaki, Ōmiya and Tōkyō
3・4	■Nagano Shinkansen	for Sakudaira, Ueda and Nagano

Shinano Railway

1・2

■Shinano Railway Line

for Komoro, Ueda, Shinonoi and Nagano

Adjacent stations

«		Service		»
Annaka-Haruna		Nagano Shinkansen		Sakudaira
Terminus		Shinano Railway Line		Naka-Karuizawa

See also

• List of railway stations in Japan

External links

• (Japanese)JR East Karuizawa Station
• (Japanese)Shinano Railway Karuizawa Station