History
Nigata Station opened on 24 November 1935 as part of the Ministry of Railways' Kure Line extension between Mitsuutsumi (today's Yasura) and Hiro. From 1 May 1946 the station served as the rail terminus for the Nihori sea route, a JNR ferry across the Seto Inland Sea to Horie Station on the Matsuyama side, until that service ended on 1 July 1982; the rail connection to Matsuyama-bound ferries then transferred to Akiaga Station. Operations moved to JR West at the privatisation of Japanese National Railways on 1 April 1987. The aging pedestrian overbridge linking the two side platforms was removed from 2018 to 2019, and a new station building entered service in March 2024.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-06-09.
Notes
Until 1982, Nigata was the rail terminus for the Nihori sea route — a JNR ferry that crossed the Seto Inland Sea to Horie Pier in Matsuyama on the opposite shore.