Service

Although Ueno is a larger station with more lines, many passengers transfer at Nippori, as the Keisei tracks run parallel to the JR East Yamanote Line, Keihin-Tōhoku Line and Jōban Line, whereas transferring at Ueno requires a walk at street-level from the Keisei station to the JR or Tokyo Metro station. At Funabashi station, passengers can change to the JR Sōbu Main Line and the Tōbu Noda Line.

The one-way ride between Narita Airport and Nippori takes about 55 minutes, with 5 additional minutes to reach Ueno, and costs ¥1,920 each way (¥1,000 base fare + ¥920 express surcharge). The journey to Keisei Funabashi takes about 33 minutes at a cost of ¥1220 each way (¥720 + ¥500, respectively).

Prior to 09:00 leaving Narita and from 17:55 leaving Ueno, Skyliner services are known as Morning Liner and Evening Liner, respectively. These trains make additional stops at Aoto, Yachiyodai, and Sakura on their runs to and from Ueno and either Keisei Narita Station or Narita Airport. The express surcharge is reduced to ¥400 for these trains and tickets are only sold from special Liner ticket counters at the train stations served. Morning Liner and Evening Liner trains do not stop at Keisei Funabashi station.

Only AE100 series trains run as Skyliner trains, and each train is 8 cars long. Seat reservations are mandatory on Skyliner, Morning Liner, and Evening Liner. Smoking is prohibited except in the train's end cars.

The main competition for the Skyliner is JR East's Narita Express, which is more expensive but serves more major train stations directly. In 2010, Skyliner services will transfer to the Narita Rapid Railway, presently under construction, which is expected to give Skyliner a speed advantage over Narita Express (36 minutes to Nippori vs. 55 minutes to Tokyo Station).

History

The Skyliner's predecessor was the Kaiungō express service, which began operation non-stop from Keisei Ueno to Keisei Narita on May 1, 1952, 26 years before the opening of Narita Airport. Seat reservations were mandatory.

The Kaiungō Express service was operated by 1600 series trains from 1953 to 1967. Although the first trains were small, with only two cars, they had reclining seats and televisions, making them luxurious trains for their time. The trains were lengthened to three cars in 1957 (although only one of those cars was an actual Type 1600 car). In 1967, the 1600 series trains were replaced by 3150 and 3200 series trains, fitted with semi-transverse seating in order to comply with subway specifications.