Shikoku Railway Company

Shikoku Railway Company

Native name	四国旅客鉄道株式会社
Romanized name	Shikoku Ryokaku Tetsudō ("Shikoku Passenger Railway") kabushiki gaisha
Company type	State-owned KK
Industry	Private railway
Predecessor	Japanese National Railways (JNR)
Founded	April 1, 1987 (1987-04-01) (privatization of JNR)
Headquarters	Takamatsu, Kagawa , Japan
Area served	Shikoku
Key people	Masafumi Izumi (CEO)
Services	Passenger rail Freight services Intercity bus
Revenue	31.35 billion yen (2007)
Total assets	357.137 billion yen (2007)
Total equity	3.5 billion yen
Owner	Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (100%)
Number of employees	2,942 (as of 1 April 2007)
Subsidiaries	JR Shikoku Bus
Website	www.jr-shikoku.co.jp

The Shikoku Railway Company (四国旅客鉄道株式会社, Shikoku Ryokaku Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha), commonly known as JR Shikoku (JR四国, Jei-āru Shikoku), is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates 855.2 kilometres (531.4 mi) of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has its headquarters in Takamatsu, Kagawa.

Lines

JR Shikoku railway network

In 1988 JR Shikoku, unlike other JR companies, discontinued the classification of its rail lines as either main, secondary, or branch lines. Prior to the change, the Dosan, Kōtoku, Tokushima, and Yosan Lines had all been main lines.

Each line is color-coded and labeled with a letter, in conjunction with which a number is assigned to each station on the line. For example, Naruto Station on the Naruto Line (labeled N) is numbered N10. Although this method is now widely used by rail companies, especially metro systems in Japan, JR Shikoku was the first JR company to adopt it.

Line color	Abbreviation	Line		Japanese	Termini
Main Lines
	(none)	Honshi Bisan Line		本四備讃線	Kojima – Utazu
	Y	Yosan Line	Main Line	予讃線	Takamatsu – Matsuyama
	U				Matsuyama – Mukaibara
			Branch Line (New Line)		Mukaibara – Uchiko
		Uchiko Line		内子線	Uchiko – Niiya
		Yosan Line	Branch Line (New Line)	予讃線	Niiya – Iyo-Ōzu
			Main Line		Iyo-Ōzu – Uwajima
	S		Main Line (Old Line)		Mukaibara – Iyo-Ōzu
	T	Kōtoku Line		高徳線	Takamatsu – Tokushima
	D	Dosan Line		土讃線	Tadotsu – Kōchi
	K				Kōchi – Kubokawa
	B	Tokushima Line		徳島線	Tsukuda – Sako
Other Lines
	M	Mugi Line		牟岐線	Tokushima – Kaifu
	N	Naruto Line		鳴門線	Ikenotani – Naruto
	G	Yodo Line		予土線	Wakai – Kita-Uwajima

Train services

JR Shikoku provides intercity transportation with its limited express services, connecting major cities on the island of Shikoku with Okayama on Honshū. The company also operates local trains.

Major named trains of JR Shikoku

Type	Name	Endpoints and major intermediate stations (Stations not owned by JR Shikoku in parentheses)	Train type
Limited Express	Ashizuri	Kōchi – (Nakamura) – (Sukumo)	2000 series DMU, 2700 series DMU
	Ishizuchi	Takamatsu – Matsuyama	8000 series EMU, 8600 series EMU
	Muroto	Tokushima – Anan – Kaifu	KiHa 185 series DMU
	Nanpū	(Okayama) – Awa-Ikeda – Kōchi	2700 series DMU
	Uwakai	Matsuyama – Uwajima	2000 series DMU
	Uzushio	(Okayama) – Takamatsu – Tokushima	KiHa 185 series DMU, 2600 series DMU, 2700 series DMU
	Shimanto	Takamatsu – Awa-Ikeda – Kōchi	2700 series DMU
	Shiokaze	(Okayama) – Matsuyama	8000 series EMU, 8600 series EMU
	Tsurugisan	Tokushima – Anabuki – Awa-Ikeda	KiHa 185 series DMU
	Sunrise Seto	(Tokyo) – (Okayama) – Takamatsu	285 series EMU sleeper (operated by JR West and JR Central)
Rapid	Marine Liner	(Okayama) – Takamatsu	5000 series EMU (operated by JR Shikoku) 223-5000 series EMU (operated by JR West)

• 
  185 series DMU used for limited express services
• 
  2000 series DMU used for limited express services
• 
  5000 series EMU used for Marine Liner rapid services
• 
  8000 series EMU used for limited express services

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Official website (in English)