Zeze Station - Zeze Station

Zeze Station is a station on the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) Tokaido Main Line, located in Banba 2-chome, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture. The station number is JR-A28. It is included in the nickname section of the "Biwako Line". history In 1880 (Meiji 13), it opened as Baba Station along with all the lines between Kyoto Station and Otsu Station (later Hama Otsu Station). It is the oldest station in Shiga prefecture. It opened 19th in the whole country. The section between Kyoto Station and Baba Station has a continuous steep slope of 25 ‰ on both sides, and an Otsu locomotive district has been set up nearby to disassemble the auxiliary locomotive. When an express train was driven on the Tokaido Line, due to the traction constant, work was also done to separate the dining car at Baba. In addition, when the station opened, the Tokaido Line was not connected, and the sea traffic between Otsu and Nagahama was dependent on Lake Biwa's maritime traffic (Taiko Kisen). The train from Kyoto switched back at this station and went down to Otsu station (currently near Hamaotsu station). Baba station is the oldest switchback station in Japan, but it is rarely called because it is a simple turn-back type, and it is often said that the oldest switchback station in Japan is Matsuida station. This Baba Station-Otsu Station section was left as a freight branch line of the main line (later named Otsu Line) after the entire Tokaido Line in 1889 (Meiji 22), and in 1913 Otsu became the predecessor of the Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line. When the train track opened, it stopped passenger business and became an unknown freight branch line again. The track is shared with the Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line, and the track was connected to the current Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line on the north side of the station. However, because the gauges of Otsu Electric Railway and JNR are different, it was a three-line gauge (three lines on the lake side and normal standard gauge on the mountain side). Using this connecting line, the Ewaka Railway from Omi-Imazu also boarded and was open for passengers (2 lines / day at the end of the Ewaka Railway). Therefore, there was a small platform where Ewaka railroad cars depart and arrive, but it does not exist. The freight branch line to Hamaotsu was abolished in 1969 (Showa 44). On the west side of Keihan Zensho Station, there is a slope that is the trace of the railroad track at that time, which is a stretch of the time. The steep slope over the Osakayama tunnel became a bottleneck in transportation even after the track was changed, and the freight train was operated with an auxiliary locomotive from Umekoji (west side of Kyoto Station) to Zeze. Furthermore, during the Pacific War, in order to increase transportation capacity, three-line construction is being carried out, with only the up line between Kyoto Station and Zeze Station being two lines. In 1970 (Showa 45), the construction of a double track between Kusatsu Station and Kyoto Station was completed, and at that time, one platform was added. When the Nagoya Express Railway was planned in the 1930s, Baba Station was to be set up near this station. Station structure Located within the quadruple-track section for each direction, the island platform for 12-car trains currently has a total of 2 sides and 4 lines, one for each of the up and down inside and outside lines, and 6 lines for the upper and lower sidings. It is a ground station and has a bridge station building. The distance to the neighboring Otsu station is 1.7km, which is the shortest on the Biwako line. Since there used to be a motive power depot, the premises are still large. It is a business consignment station (managed station of Otsu station) by JR West Koutsu Service Co., Ltd. and is included in the ICOCA usage area. Only regular trains stop, and basically the 2nd and 3rd stops are used. The Kusatsu Line direct train runs on the outside line except for a part of the descent, so use Platforms 1 and 4. On the east side of the station, it is possible to switch from inside to outside and outside to inside. However, it is not possible to change lines between the upper and lower lines. Since it has a siding, it has an on-site signal and a departure signal. The Special Rapid Service will temporarily stop only on the day of the Biwako Fireworks Festival in August every year. Diamond During the daytime hours, four regular trains (rapid trains bound for Osaka from Takatsuki Station) stop every hour. The number increases in the morning hours. Cargo handling Until 2005, it handled freight handled by cars departing from and arriving at dedicated lines, and there was a freight train setting. Although the freight station registration remains nominally, it is not handled on a regular basis. There was a dedicated line running parallel to the outside of Line 6 and leading to the cement cargo handling equipment for freight cars at Taiheiyo Cement Otsu Service Station on the west side of the station. Therefore, until February 28, 2005, a cement transport freight train was operating between Higashi Fujiwara Station and this station. Usage situation The average daily number of passengers in 2019 is 12,915. [7]

How to read "Zeze" There is a station building on the stairs now, but it used to be in the basement. It has been renewed so beautifully that it doesn't make you feel such an impression.

Barrier-free transfer between Keihan Line and jr Line is also possible, which is very convenient.

I mainly use it on business trips. I don't think I've come for private use. It has become cleaner and has an escalator as it has been elevated due to recent renovations. I'm happy because sometimes it was hard to move underground on the stairs. It is a pity that the day I visited was out of order due to heavy rain.

It is a connecting station between the JR Tokaido Main Line (Biwako Line) and the Keihan Ishiyama Sakamoto Line. It has been refurbished to a clean station building with a roundabout. When you go to the roundabout, you will find Tobita-kun, a professional basketball B-League player with Shiga Lakestars specifications. The road width in front of the station is a little narrow.

I came for work. Cooperation with JR is also good.

The toilet is clean. It is a washlet with a disinfectant cleaner.

There are a lot of benches. It is inconvenient because there is no trash can.