Ōsaka Station


Ōsaka Station is a major railway station in the Umeda district of Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company. It forms as one of the city's main railway terminals to the north, the other being Shin-Ōsaka.
Although it is officially served by only the JR Kobe/Kyoto Lines and the Osaka Loop Line, Ōsaka is the starting point of JR Takarazuka Line service, and serves as the terminal for trains bound for the San'in region via JR Takarazuka Line and the Hokuriku region via JR Kyoto Line, while offering connections to trains bound for Nara, Wakayama and Kansai International Airport via the Osaka Loop Line.
Umeda Station, Nishi-Umeda Station and Higashi-Umeda Station are directly connected to Ōsaka Station, and Kitashinchi Station on the JR Tozai Line is within walking distance.
Ōsaka Station and Umeda Station, effectively part of the same complex, together constitute the busiest station in Western Japan, serving 2,343,727 passengers daily in 2005, and the fourth-busiest railway station in the world.
Ōsaka Station also houses a large terminal for overnight bus services to other cities in Japan, and until March 2013 also had a nearby freight terminal complex, Umeda Freight Terminal, owned by JR Freight.

Station layout

Ōsaka station is elevated above street level, on the second floor of the station complex. There are four concourses, corresponding to four sets of ticket gates: the Midosuji gates, serving as a transfer point to Hankyu and Subway Umeda Station and Higashi-Umeda Station; the Central gates, with access to Daimaru, Lucua, Yodobashi Camera, Umeda Sky Building, Grand Front and transfers to Hanshin Umeda and JR Kitashinchi Station; the Sakurabashi gates, with access to Ōsaka Garden City and transfers to Subway Nishi-Umeda Station, city bus, hotel shuttle buses and taxi; and the Bridge Gates, with direct access into Daimaru and Lucua, as well as a bridge passage to Hankyu Umeda. The Midosuji concourse is on the lower level, with escalators and elevators leading directly to platforms; the Central concourse has both direct escalators and a mezzanine-level transfer passage connected by stairs; the Sakurabashi concourse has gates on ground level but is primarily on the mezzanine level, connected to the central concourse by a corridor; and the Bridge Gate is on the third level above the platforms, and connected by escalators and elevators. An additional concourse is planned for the west side of the station, which will link the elevated platforms with the under-construction underground platforms to the northwest of the main station.
Platforms and tracks are on the second floor. There were previously six island platforms and one side platform serving 13 tracks; the highest-numbered track was Track 11, as the Osaka Loop Line tracks were referred to as "Inner Loop" and "Outer Loop" only. In preparation for the construction of the new north building, the sixth platform was closed and the seventh was removed altogether; at the same time, the remaining platforms were renumbered so that Tracks 1 and 2 were for the Ōsaka Loop Line, and so on. The sixth platform reopened on 20 December 2009 and there became five island platforms and a side platform serving 11 tracks in total. The remainder of the old Track 11 platform, on the west side of the station, was used as a pedestrian walkway linking the North Gate Building with its parking garage until 2020, when it was removed to facilitate construction of a new West Gate Building. There was originally a through track in between tracks 8 and 9, but it had been long disused; during the closure of Track 11, the platform for Tracks 9 and 10 was expanded and this track was used temporarily as Track 9. Since 12 October 2010, this track has been used permanently as Track 8 after the widening of the adjoining platform.
An additional four tracks are located under the northwest side of the station complex, via relocated underground JR Freight tracks originally used for Umeda Freight Station. Opened for passenger service on 18 March 2023, these tracks serve as the western terminus of the Osaka Higashi Line, with single track connection for continuing Umeda branch freight service as well as Haruka and Kuroshio limited express services. There is also a stub tunnel west of the platforms, for planned connection to the Naniwasuji Line.

Platforms

Underground platforms (Umekita Area)

Limited express trains

;for the Hokuriku Line
  • Limited express Thunderbird
;for the Tokaido Line and the Takayama Line
  • Sleeper limited express Sunrise Izumo/''Sunrise Seto - Tokyo-bound train only
  • Limited express Hida
  • Commuter limited express Biwako Express
for the Sanyo Line
  • Commuter limited express Rakuraku Harima
;for the San'in region
;for the north area of the Kansai region via the Fukuchiyama Line
  • Limited express Kounotori
for the Kansai Airport Line via the Osaka Loop Line and the Hanwa Line
  • Limited express Haruka
for the Kisei Main Line via the Osaka Loop Line and the Hanwa Line
  • Limited express Kuroshio''

    Adjacent stations

History

Osaka Station opened on 11 May 1874, as one of the first railway stations in the Kansai region when the railway between Osaka and Kobe started operation. It was electrified along with the Tōkaidō Main Line in 1934.
The existence of the station naturally made the area the primary transport hub of the city. Railways that set Ōsaka Station as the terminal or built their terminal around Osaka Station include Osaka Railway in 1895, Nishinari Railway in 1898, Hanshin Electric Railway in 1906, Minoo Arima Electric Tramway in 1910, and Osaka Municipal Subway in 1933. The regional railways tended to name their stations Umeda, the name of the area, rather than the city name.
The air raids in World War II flattened the blocks in front of the station. Immediately after the war, the area turned into a huge black market, the atmosphere of which remained until redevelopment in the 1970s.
The station building was rebuilt in 1901, 1940, and 1979. In 1983, a high-rise building, Acty Osaka, which housed a department store and a hotel, was added to the south of the station.
A new north station building was opened in 2011, coinciding with an expansion of Acty Osaka and major renovation of the station areas with a new concourse and north–south connection. This is the first step in a larger drive to redevelop the land used by JR Freight's Umeda Terminal, which is seen as the last undeveloped piece of real estate in the area. Plans also call for moving the Umeda Freight Line underground and establishing a terminal for the Osaka Higashi Line just north of ALBi, with an eye towards a future extension to JR Namba Station. The relocation of the former Umeda Freight line ultimately became part of the Naniwasuji Line project in 2019.
Station numbering was introduced in March 2018 with the Tokaido Line platforms being assigned station number JR-A47, the Fukuchiyama Line platforms being assigned station number JR-G48, and the Osaka Loop Line platforms being assigned station number JR-O11.
The new underground facilities at Osaka Station opened for service from the start of the revised timetable on 18 March 2023. In preparation for the opening, all limited express trains running on the Umeda Freight Line were re-routed through the new underground tracks in February 2023.

Major renovation

Future expansion

A new line called the Naniwasuji Line is planned to be opened by 2031 and will route trains under the Naniwasuji corridor to JR Namba Station and further south. To prepare for the opening of the line, an additional two underground platforms serving four tracks opened for service on the northwest side of the station on 18 March 2023. The next phase of the Naniwasuji Line is to construct the underground tracks south to JR Namba Station and the Nankai Main Line.

Surrounding area

  • Osaka Station City
  • *South Gate Building
  • **Daimaru Umeda
  • **Pokémon Center Osaka
  • **Nintendo Osaka
  • **Hands
  • **Hotel Granvia Osaka
  • *North Gate Building
  • **Lucua
  • **Lucua 1100
  • **Osaka Station City Cinema
  • **Itochu
  • **JR Expressway bus terminal
  • *eki marche
  • *ALBi
  • *Umesan-koji

    North side

  • Hankyu bus stop
  • Hankyu San-bangai
  • *San-bangai Expressway bus terminal
  • Hotel New Hankyu Osaka
  • *Airport shuttle bus terminal for Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport
  • Grand Front Osaka
  • *InterContinental Osaka
  • Yodobashi Camera
  • *Links Umeda
  • *Hotel Hankyu Respire Osaka
  • Shin Umeda City
  • *Umeda Sky Building
  • *The Westin Osaka
  • Chayamachi district
  • *NU Chayamachi
  • *Mainichi Broadcasting System
  • *Umeda Arts Theater
  • *Loft
  • *Umekita Gardens

    South side

  • Osaka city bus terminal
  • Hankyu Department Store, Hanshin Department Store
  • *Hankyu bus stop
  • Umeda DT Tower
  • Osaka Ekimae Buildings
  • *Osaka Central Post Office
  • Osaka Marubiru Building
  • *Airport shuttle bus terminal for Osaka International Airport
  • Hilton Osaka
  • Osaka Garden City
  • *Hilton Osaka
  • *Ritz-Carlton Osaka
  • *Herbis Osaka
  • **Airport shuttle bus for Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport
  • *Herbis Ent
  • **Osaka Shiki Theatre
  • **Billboard live Osaka
  • *Mainichi Shimbun
  • HEP Five