[Kobe Electric Railway] May 2022: Construction of new station building on the inbound platform side at Oike Station begins

Barrier-free construction work at Kobe Electric Railway's Oike Station, which began on September 15, 2020.

For the outbound line (Arima/Sanda direction), the level crossing within the station premises was abolished, and
a new station building exclusively for the outbound line was constructed to achieve barrier-free access,
and the new outbound-only station building began operation on February 1, 2021.

Meanwhile, the existing station building has continued to be used as a station building exclusively for the inbound line.

Since the inbound-only station building can also be accessed from the adjacent Shintetsu Taxi waiting area,
it was already in a somewhat barrier-free state.

However, as the station building is about 56 years old, it has become increasingly obsolete,
and a sense of decay was undeniable.

Therefore, Shintetsu and Kobe City planned to rebuild the inbound-only station building and redevelop the area in front of the station.

Based on materials regarding the 'FY2021 Initial Budget' published by Kobe City,
this blog also covered it in an article on March 2, 2021.
⇒ [Kobe Electric Railway] February 2021: Rebuilding of Oike Station's current inbound station building & station front redevelopment decided!

Although the rebuilding of the station building and redevelopment of the station front were revealed in February 2021,
the construction work for the inbound-only station building finally began in April 2022.

...So,
I went to see the start of the construction on May 3, 2022.

The Shintetsu taxi stand that was next to the station building has been closed.

The taxi stand has been moved to the other side of the level crossing, next to the post office.

The area that used to be the taxi stand has been blocked off,
and material storage areas and prefabricated buildings have been set up.

By the way, this is what the taxi stand looked like as of April 2021.
There was a taxi waiting area and a bicycle parking lot at the very back.

With the start of this construction, the bicycle parking lot that was at the back has been removed...

The bicycle parking lot has been moved to near the entrance of the former taxi stand.

The western half (road side) of the former taxi stand is now occupied by a temporary bicycle parking lot and prefabricated structures,
while the eastern half (cliff side) has been left as an empty lot.

The reconstruction work for the inbound-only station building has finally begun.
An image of the exterior of the new station building was posted inside the current station building.

The station building features a large circular roof.

This is an excerpt from a public relations magazine published by Kobe City.
It is easier to get an overall image from this one.

A new station building and restrooms will be built where the current inbound restrooms and bicycle parking lot are located.
A ramp will be installed in the current station building and vending machine area to make it barrier-free.

Also, by moving the station building back toward the cliff, space for sidewalks and the railroad crossing will be secured.
The railroad crossing will be expanded to separate pedestrians from vehicles.

The station plaza is scheduled to have the taxi stand and bicycle parking lot redeveloped.

The construction period is until the end of March 2023.
The period may be extended depending on the situation.

Lastly, as an aside...

The image in the (PDF) of the "Points of the FY2021 Initial Budget Proposal" announced by Kobe City in February 2021 looks like this.
"Points of the FY2021 Initial Budget Proposal"(PDF) looks like this.

The design is completely different, isn't it? (lol)

The latest concept image posted at the station states that
"the exterior is subject to change in the future," so
I'm looking forward to seeing what the final station building will look like.

I plan to continue observing the situation at Oike Station.

<Related Articles>
★ Click here for the status of Oike Station as of October 2020
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] October 2020: Construction of new station building on the outbound platform side at Oike Station begins

★ Click here for the status of Oike Station as of December 2020
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] December 2020: New station building on the outbound platform side at Oike Station revealed

★ Click here for the status of Oike Station as of mid-January 2021
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] January 2021: New outbound station building at Oike Station to open on 2/1

★ Click here for the status of Oike Station as of the end of January 2021
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] January 2021: The day before the opening of the new outbound-only station building at Oike Station

★ Click here for the status of Oike Station as of early February 2021
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] February 2021: One week after the opening of the new outbound-only station building at Oike Station

★ Click here for the status of Oike Station as of late March 2021
⇒[Kobe Electric Railway] March 2021: Construction of the new outbound station building at Oike Station is complete! Next up: rebuilding the current inbound station building and redeveloping the station area!

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