Marine Liner

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. At a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), the journey takes approximately 55–60 minutes.

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 service (快速, kaisoku?), 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.