History
Kaitaichi Station opened on 1894-06-10 with the San'yō Railway between Itozaki and Hiroshima. On 1903-12-27 the connecting line to Kure was opened, making the station the western junction of what would become the Sanyō Main Line and the Kure Line. The San'yō Railway was nationalised in 1906, and the two lines received their present names with the 1909 nomenclature reform. After the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima many survivors evacuated to Kaitaichi, and with the line west of the station severed the station served as the eastern transfer hub. Freight ended in 1984. JR West took over at the 1987 privatisation; the elevated station building opened on 1986-12-01 and ICOCA service began in 2007. A grade-separation project was scheduled to begin in 2027 and complete in 2036.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-22.
Notes
Following the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, with the rail line west of the station severed, Kaitaichi became a major refuge and transfer point for survivors heading east.