Marine Liner

Marine Liner
The Marine Liner 37 service to Takamatsu passing Sanuki-Fuchu Station, lead by a JR Shikoku 5000 series EMU
Overview
Service type	Rapid
First service	1988
Current operator(s)	JR West, JR Shikoku
Route
Line used	Seto-Ohashi Line
Technical
Rolling stock	223-5000 series/5000 series EMUs
Operating speed	130 km/h (80 mph)

The Marine Liner (マリンライナー, Marin Rainā) is the name of a train service in Japan operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) and Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). The Marine Liner links Okayama, the capital city of Okayama Prefecture and a major station on the Sanyō Shinkansen, with Takamatsu, the capital city of Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, via the Great Seto Bridge. Operating at a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), the journey takes approximately 55–60 minutes.

Description

Since 1 October 2003, the Marine Liner has been operated by JR West 223-5000 series EMU trainsets. The first car on most Takamatsu-bound trains is a JR Shikoku 5000 series bi-level cab car with reserved seating. Previously, 213 series EMUs were used.

From Okayama to Takamatsu, all Marine Liner trains stop at Chayamachi, Kojima and Sakaide. Most trains also stop at either Senoo or Hayashima, or both. Some early morning and late evening trains make additional stops at intermittent stations on the Seto-Ohashi and Yosan lines.

As it is classified as a "Rapid" (快速, kaisoku) service, a standard fare is charged for using the Marine Liner. It currently takes about one hour to cover the entire journey at a cost of ¥1,470 each way. A passenger may upgrade to reserved seating for an additional ¥510 and ¥950 each way, for the bottom (ordinary reserved) and top (green car/first class reserved) levels of the bi-level train car, respectively. There is a ¥200 discount on ordinary reserved seating during off-peak seasons.

A crew change for the train driver and conductor occurs at Kojima, a boundary station between the two operating railways.

Route

Side view of Marine Liner 5000 series bilevel car at Takamatsu Station, May 2007

The Marine Liner runs over two sections known collectively as the Seto-Ohashi Line. The Okayama-Kojima section is operated by JR West¹, and the Kojima-Takamatsu section is operated by JR Shikoku².

¹Portions run over the JR Uno Line
²Portions run over the JR Yosan Line

Stations

Marine Liner stopping patterns (as of December 2006)

Key

Formations

Services are formed as 2-, 3-, 5-, or 7-car formations as shown below with car 1 at the Takamatsu end. All cars are no smoking.

• Green: Green class (first class)
• White: Standard class
• G (green class), R (standard class): Reserved seats
• NR (standard class only): Non-reserved seats

External links

Media related to Rapid Service Marine Liner at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Named trains of West Japan Railway Company Shinkansen Hikari Kodama Mizuho Nozomi Sakura Limited express (daytime) Biwako Express Hakutaka Hamakaze Haruka Hashidate Kinosaki Kounotori Kuroshio Maizuru Ohayō Express Oyasumi Express Shirasagi Super Hakuto Super Inaba Super Matsukaze Super Oki Thunderbird Yakumo Limited express (overnight) Sunrise Izumo Sunrise Seto Twilight Express Rapid Marine Liner Discontinued Akatsuki Asakaze Ginga Izumo Kagayaki Kitaguni Kitakinki Monju Ocean Arrow Raichō Seto Tamba Tango Discovery Tango Explorer Tsurugi

v t e Mass transit in Shikoku Railways JR Shikoku Asa Kaigan Iyo Takamatsu-Kotohira Tosa Tosa Kuroshio JR lines Dosan Honshi-Bisan Seto-Ōhashi Kōtoku Mugi Naruto Tokushima Uchiko Yodo Yosan JR trains Ashizuri Ishizuchi Marine Liner Muroto Nanpū Shimanto Shiokaze Tsurugisan Uwakai Uzushio Airports Kōchi Matsuyama Takamatsu Tokushima