Taiwan High Speed Rail's New Trains Expected to Launch Earlier, Railway Bureau Aims for Mid-2027

(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 24) Taiwan High Speed Rail's (THSR) first new generation train, the N700ST, is expected to arrive in Taiwan in August. Legislators have inquired whether the launch schedule for the new trains can be advanced from the third quarter of next year. The Railway Bureau stated today that it hopes THSR will move towards the goal of gradually putting new trains into operation by mid-next year to alleviate issues of crowded carriages and standing passengers.

The Legislative Yuan's Transportation Committee reviewed the budget for the Ministry of Transportation and Communications' Railway Bureau and its affiliated units for fiscal year 2025 today.

As THSR has ordered 12 new generation N700ST trains from Japan, with the first train scheduled to be manufactured in late July and arrive in Taiwan in mid-August. Kuomintang legislator Hung Meng-kai stated that besides the difficulty of getting tickets during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the public's main concern is the standing passengers in reserved seat carriages on Friday southbound and Sunday northbound journeys. Reserved seat passengers already feel that the quality of THSR travel is declining. If the new trains cannot be launched until the third quarter of next year, the public will have to wait for nearly a year and a half longer.

Democratic Progressive Party legislator Lee Kun-tse pointed out that THSR currently has 34 trains, with 12 being new. After the new trains arrive in Taiwan, they will undergo relevant testing and pre-operation preparations. He hopes the launch time can be advanced, which will help alleviate crowds and increase passenger numbers. He mentioned that THSR typically carries about 240,000 passengers daily, and during holidays, it can sometimes exceed 300,000 passengers daily. He often sees passengers standing in reserved seat carriages and hopes this can be resolved soon.

Director-General of the Railway Bureau, Yang Cheng-chun, stated that according to the progress THSR has reported, there is a chance for an earlier launch. He hopes THSR will aim to gradually put new trains into operation by mid-next year, with an expected increase in capacity of about 25% in the future to resolve the current issues of crowded carriages and standing passengers.

Regarding the major delay of Taiwan High Speed Rail in May, Democratic Progressive Party legislator Lin Chun-hsien stated that the Aviation Safety Council is not investigating, and it has been transferred to the Railway Bureau for investigation. He questioned whether the Railway Bureau has the capability to conduct this investigation with its current technology and equipment.

Lee Kun-tse pointed out that after the last major THSR delay incident, last night another 4 trains were delayed by 5 minutes due to power anomalies between Taoyuan and Hsinchu. He mentioned that besides delay issues, the public also has concerns about THSR's safety.

Yang Cheng-chun stated that in past investigations, in addition to committees composed of external scholars and experts, when technical or material assessments are needed, professional institutions such as the Metal Industries Research and Development Centre (MIRDC), the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST), and the Taiwan Railway Research Institute (TRRI) are commissioned. These institutions have laboratories that can assist in restoring equipment and understanding its condition. As these organizations have been operating for some time, the investigation committee should have sufficient capacity to conduct the investigation.

In addition, regarding the THSR extension projects, Yang Cheng-chun stated that whether it is the extension to Yilan or Pingtung, it has generated much discussion in society. For the Yilan extension project, active communication and explanations have been provided regarding various opinions, and it has successfully passed the environmental impact assessment review. For the Pingtung extension project, he is confident in proceeding according to the established schedule and aims to pass the second-stage environmental impact assessment review by the end of next year. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 0624

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