F Liner

F Liner (Fライナー) is the name for the fastest through service train among five railway companies: the Tobu Railway, Seibu Railway, Tokyo Metro, Tokyu Corporation and Yokohama Minatomirai Railway.

This name is trademarked by the aforementioned five companies (No. 5885630).

Service pattern
The name "F Liner" is given to trains under the two route systems explained below. The service type of trains may change once across boundary stations for two different lines. Therefore, systematically, the name "F Liner" will be added before the service type; this means all F Liner trains are referred to as "F Liner, (Service type on current line)". For instance: Within the Fukutoshin Line → "F Liner, Express", bound for Motomachi-Chūkagai; Within the Toyoko Line → "F Liner, Limited Express", bound for Shinrin-Kōen.


 * 1) Seibu Line system: Hannō / Kotesashi - Motomachi-Chūkagai
 * 2) * Seibu Yurakucho Line and Ikebukuro Line: Rapid Express (快速急行)
 * 3) * Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line: Express (急行)
 * 4) * Tōkyū Tōyoko Line and Minatomirai Line: Limited Express (特急)
 * 5) Tōbu Line system: Ogawamachi / Shinrin-Kōen - Motomachi-Chūkagai
 * 6) * Tōbu Tōjō Line: Rapid Express (快速急行)
 * 7) * Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line: Express (急行)
 * 8) * Tōkyū Tōyoko Line and Minatomirai Line: Limited Express (特急)

Within the Fukutoshin Line, the Tōyoko Line and the Minatomirai Line, four F Liner trains operate every hour at 15-minute intervals during daytime: two operate on the Tōbu Line system from/to Shinrin-Kōen, and the other two operate on the Seibu Line system, with one operating from/to Hannō, and the other from/to Kotesashi, each operating at 1-hour intervals. For northbound trains on weekend mornings, only one F Liner train operates every hour which terminates at Hannō.

The longest distance travelled for an F Liner journey is 100.1 km, from Ogawamachi to Motomachi-Chūkagai.

From 18 March 2023, F Liner services now operate as Rapid Express services on the Tobu Tojo Line instead of Express services, skipping Shiki and Fujimino. Previously, F Liner trains did not operate as the fastest possible through service on the Tojo Line, as faster Rapid Express through services ran alongside the F Liner's Express services.

Stations served

 * Legend
 * ● : Stops
 * ∥ : Does not run through here

Rolling stock
Regularly, all F Liner trains are operated in 10-car sets.


 * Tobu 9000 series, Tobu 9050 series EMUs, and Tobu 50070 series EMUs
 * Seibu 6000 series EMUs, and Seibu 40050 series EMUs
 * Tokyo Metro 17000 series EMUs, and Tokyo Metro 10000 series EMUs
 * Tokyu 5050-4000 series EMUs
 * Yokohama Minatomirai Railway Y500 series EMUs (Temporary 8-car service)

Former

 * Tokyo Metro 7000 series EMUs (10 car sets only)

Namesake
The F in F Liner stands for 3 English words starting with the letter F, which are:


 * Fast, which this train is envisioned to become.
 * Five, referring to through services between 5 railway companies.
 * Fukutoshin (副都心), Japanese for secondary city center.