# Maebashi Station

Maebashi Station (前橋駅, Maebashi-eki) is a passenger railway station in the city of Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of two main railway stations of central Maebashi; the other is Chūō Maebashi Station of the private railway operator Jōmō Electric Railway. In 2020, the station was renovated into an "Ecoste" station, a station with a focus on environmental conservation.

## Synopsis

Maebashi Station is the main station for the city of Maebashi, which is the prefectural capital city of Gunma Prefecture. Even though it is the main station of the capital city of Gunma, its lack of important train lines (Such as Shinkansen, Takasaki Line, Joetsu Line) make Takasaki Station the most important station in Gunma Prefecture. In addition, despite being the main station of Maebashi, Chūō Maebashi Station is closer to the city center.

## Lines

Maebashi Station is served by the Ryōmō Line, and is located 81.9 km (50.9 mi) from the starting point of the line at Oyama Station, and 9.8 km (6.1 mi) from Takasaki Station. The preceding station of Maebashi-Ōshima is 5.8 km (3.6 mi) away and the following station of Shin-Maebashi is 3.2 km (2.0 mi) away. Some Shōnan Shinjuku Line and the Ueno-Tokyo Line services also originate at this station.

## Station layout

The station consists of two elevated island platforms serving three tracks, with the station building underneath. The station has coin lockers and a Midori no Madoguchi ticket office. It has many accessibility features such as escalators, elevators, mobility scooter access, wheelchair-accessible bathrooms, and a Braille fare table.
* Ticket Gate July 2021
* Platforms 1 and 2 July 2021
* Platform 3 July 2021

### Platforms

Source:
| 1 2 | ■ Ryōmō Line | for Isesaki, Kiryū, and Oyama |
| 1 2 | JS Shōnan-Shinjuku Line | for Takasaki and Shinjuku |
| 1 2 | JU Takasaki Line via (Ueno-Tokyo Line) | for Takasaki and Tokyo |
| 3 | ■ Ryōmō Line | for Takasaki |

### Station facilities

* VIEW ALTTE (JR East ATM)
* NewDays [ja] Maebashi
* Bakery
* E'site Maebashi
** McDonald's JR Maebashi Station
** VentoMaebashi
** Maebashi Station Tourist Information Center
** Maebashi Station Bus Information Center
** Pizzeria Pesca JR Maebashi Station South Exit
** Gunma Bank [ja], Towa Bank [ja] ATM corner

## History

Maebashi Station was opened by Ryōmō Railway on November 20, 1889. From August 20, 1884, Nippon Railway operated another Maebashi Station on the other side of the Tone River, but this station was closed on December 26, 1889, when a bridge across the river was completed and Nippon Railway trains began sharing the Ryōmō Railway station. Ryōmō Railway was merged into Nippon Railway on January 1, 1897, and Nippon Railway was nationalized on November 1, 1906.
The station started accepting Suica cards on November 18, 2001.
In 2020, the station was renovated under the "Ecoste" model. The goal was to reduce CO$_2$ emissions by 69 tons (roughly 24% from 2016).
In the past, Maebashi was one of the origin stations for the Akagi limited express service to Tokyo's Ueno or Shinjuku stations. However, since 13 March 2021, all Akagi services stop at Takasaki instead of continuing on to Maebashi.

## Passenger statistics

In fiscal 2021, the station was used by an average of 7,901 passengers daily (boarding passengers only).
The table below shows passenger statistics since the year 2000:
Passenger statistics :
| Year | Average Daily Boarding Passengers | Year | Average Daily Boarding Passengers | Year | Average Daily Boarding Passengers |
| 2000 | 10,593 | 2010 | 9,422 | 2020 | 7,304 |
| 2001 | 10,334 | 2011 | 9,294 | 2021 | 7,901 |
| 2002 | 10,011 | 2012 | 9,693 | | |
| 2003 | 9,961 | 2013 | 10,107 | | |
| 2004 | 9,742 | 2014 | 10,035 | | |
| 2005 | 9,571 | 2015 | 10,188 | | |
| 2006 | 9,511 | 2016 | 10,353 | | |
| 2007 | 9,607 | 2017 | 10,490 | | |
| 2008 | 9,853 | 2018 | 10,682 | | |
| 2009 | 9,567 | 2019 | 10,511 | | |

## Surrounding area
### North exit

* Taxi stand
* Aquel Maebashi
* ORIX car rental
* Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Maebashi Branch
* Towa Bank Head Office Sales Department
* Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Maebashi Branch
* Mizuho Bank Maebashi Branch
* Resona Bank Maebashi Branch
* Ashikaga bank Maebashi Branch
* Tochigi Bank Maebashi Branch
* Yokohama Bank Maebashi Branch
* Taiko Bank Maebashi Branch
* Mizuho Trust & Banking Maebashi Branch
* Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Maebashi Branch
* Maebashi Omotemachi Post Office
* Maebashi Police Station Ekimae Koban
* La Fontaine (Wedding Hall)
* Daishi Hokuetsu Bank Maebashi Higashi Branch

### South Exit

* Taxi stand
* Toyoko Inn Maebashi Ekimae
* Chuo Sogo Gakuin Vocational Education Center
* Maebashi Civic Cultural Center
* Maebashi Bunka Fashion College
* TEPCO Maebashi branch office
* Gunma Bank Maebashi Station South Branch
* Maebashi Minamimachi Post Office
* Gunma Red Cross Blood Center Blood Donation Room Maebashi Heartland (Daido Seimei Building 1F)
* Gunma Nikken Technical College
* Keyaki Walk Maebashi

## Bus Terminal
### North Exit Bus Rotary

| Bus stand | Direction | Operating Companies | Destination |
| 1 | Towards Gunma Prefectural Office and Maebashi Park | Kanetsu Transportation | Maebashi Park, Shikishima Park Bus Terminal |
| 1 | Towards Gunma Prefectural Office and Maebashi Park | Nippon Chuo Bus | Maebashi Park, Shikishima Park Bus Terminal |
| 1 | Towards Gunma Prefectural Office and Maebashi Park | Nagai Transport | Maebashi Park |
| 2 | Towards Shibukawa and Gundai Hospital | Kanetsu Transportation | Shibukawa Station, Pediatric Medical Center, Gunma University Aramaki Campus, Gundai Hospital |
| 3 | Towards Shikishima park, Gumma-Sōja Station and Central Maebashi | Kanetsu Transportation | Kawaramachi, Gunma Sport Complex Center |
| 3 | Towards Shikishima park, Gumma-Sōja Station and Central Maebashi | Nippon Chuo Bus | Gumma-Sōja Station, Chūō-Maebashi Station |
| 3 | Towards Shikishima park, Gumma-Sōja Station and Central Maebashi | Mai Bus | Shin-Maebashi Station |
| 4 | Towards Isesaki, Tamamura, southern and eastern Maebashi | Kanetsu Transportation | Keyaki Walk |
| 4 | Towards Isesaki, Tamamura, southern and eastern Maebashi | Nippon Chuo Bus | Ishiseki Town, Jonan Sports Park, Komagata Statio North exit, Keyaki Walk |
| 4 | Towards Isesaki, Tamamura, southern and eastern Maebashi | Gunma-bus | Red Cross Hospital |
| 4 | Towards Isesaki, Tamamura, southern and eastern Maebashi | Nagai Transport | Tamamura Town Hall, Gokan Town Entrance |
| 5 | Towards Takasaki, Yoshioka and western Maebashi | Kanetsu Transportation | Gunma Onsen, Gunma Prefectural Museum of Literature |
| 5 | Towards Takasaki, Yoshioka and western Maebashi | Gunma Chuo Bus | Takasaki Station West Exit |
| 5 | Towards Takasaki, Yoshioka and western Maebashi | Nippon Chuo Bus | Momoisen, Shintou Onsen |
| 5 | Towards Takasaki, Yoshioka and western Maebashi | Gunma-bus | Misato, Aeon Mall Takasaki |
| 5 | Towards Takasaki, Yoshioka and western Maebashi | Joshin Kanko Bus | Takasaki Station West Exit |
| 6 | Towards Shin-Maebashi Station, Mount Akagi and northern Maebashi | Kanetsu Transportation | Fujimi Onsen, Akagi National Youth Exchange House, Mt. Akagi Visitor Center |
| 6 | Towards Shin-Maebashi Station, Mount Akagi and northern Maebashi | Gunma Chuo Bus | Shin-Maebashi West Exit |
| 6 | Towards Shin-Maebashi Station, Mount Akagi and northern Maebashi | Nippon Chuo Bus | Fujimi Onsen, Fujimi Community Center |
| 6 | Towards Shin-Maebashi Station, Mount Akagi and northern Maebashi | Nagai Transport | Mine Park, Osakako, Ogikubo Park |

### South Exit Bus Rotary (Highway Busses)

| Operating Companies | Destination |
| Kanetsu Transportation / Chiba Kōtsū | Narita Airport |
| Airport Transport Service / Nippon Chuo Bus | Haneda Airport |
| Nippon Chuo Bus | Osaka Toyama Station/Kanazawa Station Sendai Station Shinjuku Station/Akihabara Station/Tokyo Station |
| Kanetsu Transportation / FUJIKYU BUS | Fuji-Q Highland |