Stations on grade?

[Mudkip Orange]

So I have a couple track plan concepts I'm playing around with where I'd need to put a long passenger station on a 2% downgrade. My question is, does this exist in Japan? Every picture of a station I've seen looks completely flat. I know SEPTA and MBTA have stations on grade, but then I'm not modeling the northeast corridor...

[bikkuri bahn]

Mudkip, there certainly are such stations in Japan.  Apparently the station with the steepest slope in Japan is Iinuma station in Gifu Prefecture, on the Akechi Railway, with a grade of 33 per mille, or 3.3%:

 

http://yokochan.fc2web.com/i/station-hen-JR3.htm

(note the second picture)

 

another site with pictures:

http://do-yo.at.webry.info/200902/article_4.html

 

However, as you noticed, they are rare.  Obviously on a railway, you want the track to be on the level at places where trains stop regularly.  Also, a sloped platform would be disconcerting (and dangerous) to some passengers.

[Mudkip Orange]

Mudkip, there certainly are such stations in Japan.  Apparently the station with the steepest slope in Japan is Iinuma station in Gifu Prefecture, on the Akechi Railway, with a grade of 33 per mille, or 3.3%:

 

http://yokochan.fc2web.com/i/station-hen-JR3.htm

(note the second picture)

 

another site with pictures:

http://do-yo.at.webry.info/200902/article_4.html

 

However, as you noticed, they are rare.  Obviously on a railway, you want the track to be on the level at places where trains stop regularly.  Also, a sloped platform would be disconcerting (and dangerous) to some passengers.

 

 

Appreciate the links! Obviously not enough to justify what I'm thinking of (3-track suburban express station), but something to keep in mind for a "mountain line."

[bikkuri bahn]

If you're more inclined (pun intended!) to urban settings, the Kintetsu Nara line may be a good prototype to check out-it's double track heavy interurban. The portion of the line that climbs out of the Osaka basin and prior to entering the Ikoma Tunnel has a grade of 3%.  A few of the stations along this portion most likely do not have sloping platforms, but otherwise are built on a slope.

 

Hiraoka Station (Japanese):

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9E%9A%E5%B2%A1%E9%A7%85

 

Nukata Station:

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A1%8D%E7%94%B0%E9%A7%85_(%E5%A4%A7%E9%98%AA%E5%BA%9C)

 

Wikipedia article on the whole line(if you click on the station names, you can get track diagrams):

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%BF%91%E9%89%84%E5%A5%88%E8%89%AF%E7%B7%9A

 

BTW, should you ever visit Osaka, a ride on this line is recommended- quite spectacular, especially in the waning light of the early evening, when you can see the whole of Osaka spread out, with the tall buildings of the central section/Umeda in the center distance.

[Mudkip Orange]

Interesting, thisone looks like it only levels out to about half a percent or so before resuming the descent, and this one is actually on a crest vertical curve.

[bikkuri bahn]

I just read a book with a chapter on this stretch of line, and it says at the two stations (Nukata and Hiraoka) the line within stations limits is 1% grade, so the platforms must be sloped(or perhaps slightly stepped/staggered??).  Also, the author states the overall grade is 3.57%, rather than the 3% given by wikipedia.  Anyway, I will visit Osaka later this month, and I will make sure to visit one or both of these stations, and have a look with my own eyes.

[bikkuri bahn]

Well, back from Osaka, and yes, those two stations do have sloping platforms.  Stations with sloping platforms were very much in evidence also on Kintetsu's Osaka Line on its climb out of the Osaka basin.  Also, in more familiar territory, JR East's Ochanomizu station has a sloping platform where the Sobu Line sweeps down to join the Chuo Line, and close to my maternal family home, Keikyu Kanagawa station has a very evident sloped platform.  There are many other examples, so it would be mistaken to call these types "rare"- in fact the geography of many places in Japan require them, it seems.