History
Wakamatsu Station opened on 30 August 1891 as the northern terminus of the Chikuho Kogyo Railway, built to ship coal from the Chikuho coalfield to Wakamatsu Port. The operator was absorbed by the first Kyushu Railway in October 1897, nationalised in July 1907, and re-allocated to the Chikuho Main Line in October 1909. At peak in 1940 the station handled 8.3 million tons of coal a year; gantry cranes were retired in October 1970 and freight service ended in November 1982. The present building was completed on 24 March 1984, and JR Kyushu took over on 1 April 1987. The Smart Support Station ANSWER system was introduced on 4 March 2017, leaving the station staffed only during morning rush hours.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
Wakamatsu promotes itself as the cradle of jazz in Kyushu, and since 1 December 2018 its approach and arrival melodies have been the standard "When the Saints Go Marching In."