The is a rapid train service in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

operated by

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

(JR West) and

Shikoku Railway Company The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has i ...

(JR Shikoku) since April 1988. The ''Marine Liner'' links

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

, the capital city of

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefectur ...

and a major station on the

Sanyō Shinkansen , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiaries and affiliates, and was founded b ...

, with

Takamatsu 270px, Takamatsu City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...

, the capital city of

Kagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the southwest and Tok ...

on the island of

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

, via the

Great Seto Bridge The is a series of double deck bridges connecting Okayama and Kagawa prefectures in Japan across a series of five small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. Built over the period 1978–88, it is one of the three routes of the Honshū–Shikoku Br ...

. Operating at a top speed of 130 km/h (81 mph), the journey takes approximately 52–63 minutes.

Overview

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 Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

EMUs were used. From Okayama to Takamatsu, all ''Marine Liner'' trains stop at , and . Most trains also stop at either or , 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 service, only a standard fare is charged for using the ''Marine Liner''. It currently takes about one hour to cover the entire journey. A passenger may upgrade to reserved seating, in both standard seats or Green Car seats for an additional fee. A crew change for the train driver and conductor occurs at Kojima, the boundary station between the two operating railways.

Route

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. ¹''Portions run over the JR

Uno Line The is a Japanese railway line which connects Okayama Station in Okayama to Uno Station in Tamano, both in Okayama Prefecture. It is owned and run by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is also referred to as the . Part of the line, b ...

''
²''Portions run over the JR

Yosan Line The is the principal railway line on the island of Shikoku in Japan, connecting the major cities of Shikoku, and via the Honshi-Bisan Line, with Honshu. It is operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and is aligned approximately p ...

Stations

;Key (as of December 2006)

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. Most of the trains use 5-car formations. *Green: Green class (first class) *White: Standard class *G (green class), R (standard class): Reserved seats *NR (standard class only): Non-reserved seats

History

The ''Marine Liner'' service was introduced in April 1988, using 3-car

EMUs formed as three-car, six-car, or nine-car formations.

References

External links

JR West ''Marine Liner'' information

JR Shikoku ''Marine Liner'' information
{{Shikoku transit Named passenger trains of Japan West Japan Railway Company Shikoku Railway Company Railway services introduced in 1988