Problems with moving to the ticket gate on the opposite side “If we build a dedicated station building for each platform, it will be necessary to install an automatic ticket gate and ticket vending machine on each of them, which will be expensive. Wouldn’t it be more rational to consolidate them?” It is tempting to think, “Wouldn’t it be more rational to consolidate stations? In the old days, however, it was probably cheaper to build individual station buildings and ticket gates than to build overbridges and underpasses. Another option would be an on-premises level crossing, but this would have increased the number of accidents at railroad crossings. There are examples such as Kashii Hanazono-mae Station on the Nishitetsu Kaizuka Line. This station originally had two opposing tracks, but the No. 2 platform on the opposite side of the station building was decommissioned and removed in 2007 (the tracks remained). It was restored and put back into service in March 2026, but it is not directly connected to the station building on the No. 1 platform side. It is necessary to travel around the railroad crossing on the north side of the station. In fact, only three trains leave from this revived platform 2 in the morning for Kaizuka. If that is the case, only those who take one of those three trains need to use the platform 2 ticket gate. It is somewhat uneconomical to build an underpass or an overpass just for this purpose. The problem of getting to the other platform (the ticket gate on the opposite side) would be when there is no other way but to cross the level crossing, as in the case of Toda Station shown in the photo at the beginning of this article. If the train you are about to board is about to depart or arrive, there is a possibility that the crossing will be closed to let that train through. If this is unlucky, you will have no choice but to watch from the crossing as the train you are trying to catch drives away. This means that you need to arrive at the station with plenty of time to spare. This problem of level crossing closures can also occur when using an on-premises level crossing to move between platforms within a rachis. However, in many cases, the level crossing is kept open while the train is stopped at the platform in consideration of passengers.
There are also cases of fragmentation in elevated stations. In elevated and underground stations, the concourse and platforms in the lurch are usually on different levels. If this is the case, after entering the station, passengers can simply go to the stairs, escalators, or elevators that lead to the platform they wish to reach. However, there is an exception to this rule. Not only in the old subway stations mentioned above, but also in elevated stations, there are some cases where each platform has its own ticket gate. However, this is a very rare case. One such rare example is Obihiro Station. The station has two island-type platforms with four lines, but each platform has its own ticket gate. Therefore, when entering the station, one must check which platform the train is leaving from, and go through the corresponding ticket gate. In fact, Obihiro Station was not originally constructed in this way; when the current elevated station was put into service in November 1996, there were ticket gates on the east and west sides of the concourse within the rachis, and passengers could freely move between the two platforms within the rachis. This is a common structure for elevated stations. However, the commercial facilities under the elevated station were divided into east and west sections by the station facilities, which led to the withdrawal of tenants one after another, whether due to this or not. The commercial facility “Esta Obihiro” is still divided into the East Wing and the West Wing. In order to facilitate traffic between east and west, it was decided to build a passageway through the middle of the elevated railway tracks, and at that time, the ticket gates were separated for each platform, resulting in the current configuration. The exact opposite development took place at Miyazaki Station. When the elevated station was opened in March 1993, it had separate ticket gates for each platform, similar to the current Obihiro Station. However, in March 2020, the station was converted to its current structure and the ticket gates were consolidated.
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