Kōbe Station
Lines. The station technically forms the end point of the Tokaido Main Line and the starting of the Sanyo Main Line. This fact is barely discernible in current practice because only a few trains originate or terminate at Kobe; as a result, the station is more commonly perceived as being in the midsection of the JR Kobe Line, an alternative name for the section of the Tokaido and Sanyo lines between Osaka and Himeji. Layout. The station has one side platform and two island platforms serving five elevated tracks. History. Kobe Station opened on 11 May 1874. With  the privatization of JNR on 1 April 1987, the station came under the control of JR West. Surrounding area. The area to the south of the station was previously a freight yard, but was redeveloped and became a waterfront commercial center called Harborland. Escalators and underground pathways link pedestrian traffic from the above-ground Kobe Station with the relatively close underground stations of Kosoku Kobe on the Kobe Rapid Railway and Harborland on the Kaigan Line of the Kobe Municipal Subway.