[Kobe Electric Railway] March 2023 Kayano Station New Station Building & Station Plaza Completion Ceremony

Barrier-free construction at Kobe Electric Railway's Kayano Station has been underway since August 2021.
The new station building began service on November 5, 2022.

Even after the new station building opened,
construction of the station interior ramp and development of the station plaza continued,
and finally, all construction was completed, with a completion ceremony held on March 25, 2023.

The completion ceremony was held at the newly developed station plaza.

As the start time approached, people gradually began to gather.

The completion ceremony began at 10:30.

In addition to speeches by the president of Kobe Electric Railway, the mayor of Kobe, and representatives of the local neighborhood association,
there was a bouquet presentation by children from a local kindergarten.

After that, everyone moved to the front of the new station building for the ribbon-cutting.

After the completion ceremony, a concert by the Oike Junior High School brass band and a photo session with the official Kobe Electric Railway character, "Shin-chan," were held.

After the concert ended, the tents and chairs were quickly removed.

Instead, something else began to be prepared.

It seems there will be a station-front market and a walk rally in the afternoon.

Coffee, crepes, scones, accessories, and more were being sold.

The commemorative ceremony and concert have ended, and since the foot traffic has calmed down,
I will take a quick look at the new station building.

The connecting passage leading to the Arima Kaido area has also been renovated.

There are two ticket vending machines and one information terminal for the hearing impaired.

There are three ticket gates.

Station name sign.

Celebratory flowers are on the benches.

The reconstruction of Hanayama Station and Oike Station
was designed and supervised by Ichibansen Co., Ltd., represented by Yasuyuki Kawanishi.

Other stations designed by them include Tosa Kuroshio Railway Nakamura Station, JR Makurazaki Station, and Kintetsu Yuuzaki Station,
and for rolling stock, they have designed the Echigo Tokimeki Resort Setsugekka, JR West's WEST EXPRESS Ginga,
and the new Kintetsu general-purpose train cars scheduled to be introduced around autumn 2024.

Benches have been installed in the station building so that it can serve as a local gathering place.

I have entered the ticket gate area.

There are two fare adjustment machines and one information terminal for the hearing impaired.
Across from the ticket gates, there are separate restrooms for men and women, as well as a barrier-free restroom.

The roof has an origami-like shape.
The skylights serve as an accent.

The ramp, which was still under construction when the new station building opened on November 5, 2022, is now complete.

The ramp and stairs leading to the inbound line branch off midway along the ramp to the outbound line.

The ramp leading to the level crossing for the inbound line seems to be wide enough for one wheelchair.

Due to the installation of the ramp, the stairs to the level crossing have become slightly narrower.

Looking at the ramp from the outbound (bound for Arima/Sanda) platform.

Looking at the level crossing, stairs, ramp, and new station building from the inbound (bound for Shinkaichi) platform side.

The ramp on the inbound platform has already been in service since around February 2022.

With this, the barrier-free upgrades at Hanayama Station, which began in August 2021, are complete.
It appears they will consider barrier-free upgrades for other stations on the Arima Line in the future.

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★ Click here for the status of Hanayama Station as of September 2021
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] September 2021 Hanayama Station New Station Building & Barrier-Free Construction Begins!

★ Click here for the status of Hanayama Station as of December 2021
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] December 2021 Hanayama Station New Station Building Construction: Ramp Installation on the Upbound Side Progresses

★ Click here for the status of Hanayama Station as of March 2022
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] March 2022 Hanayama Station New Station Building Construction: Ramp on the Upbound Side Enters Service

★ Click here for the status of Hanayama Station as of April 2022
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] April 2022 Hanayama Station New Station Building Construction: Construction of the New Station Building Begins

★ Click here for the status of Hanayama Station as of September 2022
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] September 2022 Hanayama Station New Station Building Construction: Huge Pointed Roof Completed!

★ Click here for the status of Hanayama Station as of late November 2022
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] November 2022 Hanayama Station New Station Building Enters Service!

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