Tsuchiura Station (土浦駅) is in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture. East Japan Railway Company and Japan Freight Railway Company both run it. It opened on 4 November 1895 as a stop on the Japan Railway's Tsuchiura line.
History
The station opened on 4 November 1895 for passengers and freight. The Japan Railway was nationalised on 1 November 1906, and on 12 October 1909 the station was assigned to the Jōban Line. The Tsukuba Railway opened between Tsuchiura and Tsukuba on 17 April 1918. On 22 March 1928, the Jōnan Electric Railway extended its line from Nezaki to Tsuchiura station, linking Tsuchiura and Ami. A second station building, known as the boat-shaped building, was completed in October 1936. The Jōnan Electric Railway ceased operation on 28 February 1938.
A train collision happened in the station yard on 26 October 1943. Japanese National Railways was formed on 1 June 1949. On 1 June 1965, the Jōsō Tsukuba Railway merged with the Kashima Sangū Railway to form the Kantō Railway, and its Tsukuba line became the Kantō Railway Tsukuba Line. On 24 May 1976, Emperor Showa and Empress Kōjun rode the imperial train from Isohara to Tsuchiura, on their way to a national tree-planting festival. The Tsukuba line was spun off as the Tsukuba Railway on 1 April 1979. On 1 October 1981, some Hitachi limited express trains began to stop here. On 25 June 1985, Emperor Showa visited the International Science and Technology Exposition, and an imperial train ran from Ueno to Tsuchiura.
The station building was rebuilt, and a station building with an east exit opened on 17 February 1983. A WING station building opened on 2 April 1983. Luggage handling ended on 1 November 1986. On 1 April 1987, the station passed to JR East and JR Freight, and the Tsukuba line ended. On 2 February 1991, a Biyu Plaza travel centre opened. Departure melodies were introduced on 13 October 1991. On 29 June 1994, heavy rain flooded Tsuchiura, and the water reached the station entrance, so the station was used as a temporary shelter. Automatic gates opened on 28 January 1995. On 20 February 2004, the station began to use ATOS announcements and platform numbers were changed. The WING building closed on 13 July 2008.
Station buildings and shops were rebuilt from 2009 to 2020. The Perche Tsuchiura building opened on 24 July 2009. A melody based on the city's image song, Kaze no Okurimono, was used on platforms two and three from 1 August 2009. The Perche Tsuchiura building was refreshed and reopened on 9 December 2011. The Plea Atre Tsuchiura building opened in parts from 29 March 2018, with a second opening on 11 April 2018, three shops on the down platform on 26 April 2018, and a third opening on 31 May 2018. Cycling decorations were added to the stairs on 29 March 2019. The Biyu Plaza travel centre closed on 31 March 2019. On 19 March 2020, a cycling hotel opened and Plea Atre Tsuchiura had its grand opening.
Shops and services were added in 2020 and 2024. A Beard Papa shop opened in the concourse on 5 August 2020, and the station was given a Good Design award on 1 October 2020. On 19 October 2024, JR Freight began arrival and departure line cargo handling at its station. Suica became usable at the station on 18 November 2024.
See all 38 dated events in the Data view →
Written by an AI from this station's own sourced facts (the dated events in the Data view), nothing else, and checked by a program for dates and numbers that are not in those facts. It can still be wrong. Found a mistake? . Adapted from Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0; this text is shared under the same licence.