History
Nakama Station opened on 30 August 1891 as an intermediate halt on the privately built Chikuho Kogyo Railway, which ran from Wakamatsu to Nōgata to move coal out of the Chikuho coalfield. The Chikuho line, renamed Chikuho Railway, was absorbed into the Kyushu Railway in 1897, then nationalized in 1907; the station became part of the Chikuho Main Line on 12 October 1909. JR Kyushu took control on 1 April 1987 with the JNR breakup. Since 4 March 2017 it has operated as a "Smart Support Station," with the ticket window staffed only between 06:30 and 08:30; on 1 October 2023 it returned to direct JR Kyushu management.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-05-18.
Notes
A branch known as the Kōzuki Line once split off from Nakama and ran east into the coalfield; it carried passengers from 1911 until full closure on 1 April 1985.