Taiwan High Speed Rail
Encyclopedia
Taiwan High Speed Rail (abbreviated to THSR or HSR) is a high-speed rail
line that runs approximately 345 km (214 mi) along the west coast of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
from the national capital
of Taipei
to the southern city of Kaohsiung
. With construction managed by a private company, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC), which also operates the line, the total cost of the project was US$
18 billion. At the time it was built this was one of the world's largest privately funded rail construction schemes. For most of its length the line runs on viaduct
s or through tunnels with technology mainly based on Japan
's Shinkansen
system mixed with European standards and system components. The THSR 700T train series is a variant of the 700 Series Shinkansen
and was built by a consortium of Japanese rolling stock
manufacturers.
Services began on January 5, 2007, using trains with a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph), which offer journey times from Taipei to Kaohsiung as short as 96 minutes. In comparison, trains operating on the conventional Western Line of the Taiwan Railway Administration
(TRA), take over four hours for the same journey. Tickets are more expensive than on normal trains or express buses, but cheaper than those for airplanes. Most intermediate stations on the line lie outside the cities served, with rapid transit
connections constructed only after the opening of the line. Ridership initially fell short of forecasts, but grew from fewer than 40,000 passengers a day in the first few months to over 100,000 passengers a day in 2010. Once THSR began operations, almost all passengers switched from airlines flying parallel routes, while road traffic was also impacted. The system has carried over 135 million passengers since its opening.
In the initial years of operation, THSRC accumulated debt due to high depreciation
charges and interest, which originated in the financial structure set up for private capital to build and operate the line. Following the takeover of the company's board by the Taiwanese government in 2009, these financial problems were addressed by changing the method of accounting the cost of building the line and the trains, and by refinancing
THSRC's loans. The present chairman of the board and chief executive officer
of the company is civil engineer Chin-der Ou
.
during the latter half of the twentieth century led to saturation of highway, conventional rail, and air traffic systems in its western transport corridor, which threatened to impede further growth. The idea of a new rail line arose in the 1970s, and informal planning began in 1980. In 1987 the executive branch of Taiwan's government, the Executive Yuan
, instructed the Ministry of Transportation
to launch a feasibility study for a high-speed rail line in the western Taiwan corridor, which was completed in 1990. The study found that in a comparison of potential solutions to traffic problems in the corridor, a high-speed rail line would offer the highest transit volume, lowest land use, highest energy savings, and lowest pollution. In July 1990 the Preparation Office of High Speed Rail (POHSR) was established and a route was selected in 1991. Plans for the THSR were subsequently approved by the Executive Yuan in June 1992 and by Taiwan's legislature
, the Legislative Yuan
, in 1993.
(BOT) scheme in October 1996.
In a prolonged bidding process, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Consortium (THSRC) ran against the Chunghwa High Speed Rail Consortium (CHSRC). THSRC's bid was based on the high-speed technology platform of Eurotrain
, a joint venture of GEC-Alsthom
, the main manufacturer of the French TGV
, and Siemens
, the main maker of the German ICE. CHSRC's bid was based on Japanese Shinkansen technology supplied by Taiwan Shinkansen Consortium (TSC), a joint venture between several Japanese companies. THSRC was chosen as the preferred bidder in September 1997 as a result of its cheaper bid and a promise to build the line with zero net cost to the government. The group was renamed and formally established as the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) in May 1998.
During the final BOT contract negotiations, THSRC and Eurotrain sought to convince BOHSR of the technical viability of their offer by staging a demonstration run with a hybrid train assembled specifically for this purpose, which achieved 315 km/h (196 mph) on a line in Germany on 4 May 1998. THSRC and the government signed the BOT agreement on July 23, 1998. In 1997 THSRC declared the Eurotrain consortium its preferred bidder to supply the core systems, which included trains, track, electrification, signalling, and communications. However, THSRC launched a formal tender in June 1999 and on December 28, 1999, announced that it would negotiate a final core systems contract with TSC. After protracted negotiations, the contract was finally signed on December 12, 2000.
, which aimed to replace surface railway facilities in downtown Taipei with tunnels and multi-level stations. Civil works, including the construction of two parallel tunnels for the THSR and TRA's Western Line, were under the responsibility of the Taipei Railway Underground Project Organisation (TRUPO). For the rest of the line, THSRC wrote out 11 civil works contracts, and work started after the signing of the contracts from March to May 2000.
Most of the line is carried on superstructure
s. About 251 km (156 mi) or 73% of the line runs on viaduct
s, mostly precast
prestressed concrete
box girder
spans, the first of which was put in place in October 2001. A 157317 m (97.8 mi) continuous section from Paghuashan in Changhua County
to Zuoying
in Kaohsiung
was the world's longest elevated rail line section at the time of opening. Viaducts were designed to be earthquake resistant
to allow for trains to stop safely during a seismic event and for repairable damage following a maximum design earthquake. Bridges built over known fault lines were designed to survive fault movements without catastrophic damage.
About 61 km (37.9 mi) or 18% of the line is in tunnels, including 14 km (8.7 mi) of the TRUPO section in Taipei, as well as 48 tunnels with a total length of 46257 m (28.7 mi) on the other sections, the longest of which is Paghuashan Tunnel, at a finished length of 7364 m (24,160.1 ft). Forty-two of the tunnels included a total of 39050 m (24.265 mi) of mined sections, all of which were bored with the sequential excavation and support
construction method, with excavated tunnel faces of 135–155 m² (1,453.1–1,668.4 sqft), between November 2000 and July 2003. The finished interior cross-sectional area of 90 m² (968.8 sq ft), set according to wider European standards, provides space for two tracks with safety walkways.
Environmental mitigation
measures in the line's construction phase included the construction of animal bridges over the line, the planting and re-planting of trees along the track as noise screens
, and the purchase of farmland to create a preservation area for jacana
birds away from the line.
. Stations were designed with certain limitations in mind; Taoyuan Station was limited to a maximum height of 23 m (75.5 ft) due to aircraft movements at nearby Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, while Hsinchu Station's roof design underwent wind tunnel
testing to demonstrate the ability to shift ground-level winds to higher elevations. Parking facilities
, drop-off areas, and food service areas were included in station design. Steel, glass, and reinforced concrete
were used in the construction of all stations. Lighting systems for each station were contracted out to individual lighting designers. Stations were constructed with the possibility of connecting to future rapid transit or rail lines.
Reflecting a design speed of 350 km/h (217 mph), track layout was designed with a minimum curve radius
of 6250 m (20,505 ft), track-centre distance of 4500 mm (177.2 in), right-of-way width of 18 m (59.1 ft), and a maximum gradient of 2.5%, except for 3.5% at one location. All but 3 km (1.9 mi) of track is ballastless
, combining slab track of Japanese manufacture on open line sections with switches from a German supplier. Track laying began in July 2003. The line was electrified
with the 25 kV/60 Hz AC system. The signalling and train control system was laid out for bi-directional operation according to European specifications. Each track section has a checkpoint, and an automatic control system ensures that trains are spaced at least 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) apart to prevent collisions.
After four months of delays, trial runs using the first THSR 700T trains began on January 27, 2005, on the Tainan–Kaohsiung section. On October 30, 2005, a day after a test run passed the planned top service speed of 300 km/h (186 mph), the targeted maximum test speed of 315 km/h (196 mph) was achieved. The section between Banciao
(Taipei) and Zuoying (Kaohsiung) opened to the public on January 5, 2007. The HSR platforms at Taipei Station opened on March 2, 2007, bringing the entire line into operation.
445 billion, of which NT$375.5 billion were construction costs. During actual construction, due to changes in building codes, in particular seismic design criteria in the wake of the 921 earthquake
, construction costs grew to NT$436.5 billion. Due to changing financial risks, the estimate for total costs first climbed over NT$510 billion before settling back down to NT$460 billion. A delay in opening also added to the costs, which came to a final figure of NT$480.6 billion, which was equal to about US$15 billion or €
11.5 billion at the time the line opened.
Three-quarters of the project's funding in the construction phase came in the form of syndicated loan
s from banks. In February 2000 THSRC and a group of 25 domestic banks signed an agreement for a NT$323.3 billion package, of which NT$240 billion came from government deposits in the banks. In July 2006, after a delay in opening, seven banks agreed to provide a second loan package of NT$40.7 billion, and THSRC sought further funding abroad. To raise its own capital, the company sought investors. From January 2002, the government invested via state-owned companies, with its share reaching 37% in November 2005. From December 2003, THSRC began issuing preferred stock
.
's visit to Japan, a claim THSRC denied. Lee himself made a case for picking the Japanese offer in a book, claiming safety and political advantages. The losing Eurotrain consortium contested the decision without success, but later won a lawsuit for damages; THSRC agreed to pay US$65 million (US$89 million with interest).
THSRC was criticised for repeatedly postponing the start of services. Delays due to financing problems and the drawn-out decision on the core systems supplier made the original target date of July 2003 untenable, and the opening date was changed to October 31, 2005. In September 2005 the opening date was postponed again by exactly one year, due to construction delays. Insufficient preparation for operations was the reason for further month-long delays to December 7, 2006, and finally January 5, 2007.
THSRC's finances were the subject of further controversy after the government stepped in to invest in the company following its failure to secure domestic bank guarantees for foreign loans. Lawmakers claimed that the total direct and indirect share of the government in the financing had reached 84%, and accused THSRC of breaking its contractual promise to not require public funds. The government countered that they were investing, not providing funding. Still, the legislature adopted a motion making the loan conditional on the full disclosure of deals with subcontractors, which the company claimed to have already done. THSRC's failure to meet its funding targets on time continued throughout the time of construction, and state-owned companies continued to invest in the company.
in February 2003. Unions continued to protest the TRA–THSRC agreement, accusing the government of having favored THSRC.
THSRC had disputes with core systems contractor TSC over technology and responsibility for delays. Already during the final contract negotiations, TSC objected to THSRC's intention to mix European and Japanese technology, citing safety reasons, and negotiations were drawn out. Prior to the planned opening in 2005, THSRC blamed TSC for construction delays, identifying that as the reason for the postponement of the opening. Japanese media sources blamed Japanese–European technology integration for the delay.
THSRC opponents also made claims about poor construction quality, which the company rejected, deeming them routine problems that had already been dealt with. A longer controversy emerged when high-tech firms in a business park close to the line expressed concerns regarding vibrations. The dispute led to design changes and the development of track buffers that was fraught with difficulties. Vibration levels during actual test runs were lower than expected.
As a legacy of working with Eurotrain, THSRC started operation of its Japanese-built trains with 40 French and 13 German drivers. THSRC planned to train enough local drivers to replace them in 18 months. The first Taiwanese drivers passed exams in May 2007. As of March 2008, THSR employed 54 Taiwanese and 35 foreign drivers, and the training and hiring of a sufficient number of local drivers (about 100 to reach its target level of service) was seen as a pressing issue for the future.
All 30 trainsets used on THSR are Electric multiple unit
s (EMUs) of the 700T series, supplied by a consortium led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries
. THSRC considered ordering an additional six to twelve trains in November 2008 to cope with increased demand expected by 2011.
The THSR 700T type is based on the 700 Series Shinkansen
train used by JR Central
and JR West
in Japan. This marked the first time Shinkansen technology had been exported to a foreign country. The trains had to be adapted for Taiwanese climate conditions, had to meet European specifications—including additional safety measures—and the nose shape was optimised for tunnels wider than those in Japan.
The maximum service speed of the trains was raised from the 700 Series Shinkansen's 285 to 300 km/h (177.1 to 186.4 mph). The 12 cars of a 700T train are grouped in three traction units with three power cars and one trailer each, providing 10.26 MW of power; both end cars are trailers to avoid slip on powered bogie
s. The train is 304 m (997 ft) long and has a mass of 503 t (554 ST) when empty. The trains have a passenger capacity of 989 seats in two classes: 66 seats in 2+2 configuration in the single Business Car and 923 in 2+3 configuration in the eleven Standard Cars. The per capita energy consumption of a fully loaded 700T train is 16% of that of private cars and half that of buses; carbon dioxide
emissions are 11% of private cars and a quarter that of buses.
The system made Taiwan the country with the third-fastest trains in 2007, with non-stop trains from Taichung
to Zuoying averaging 244.7 km/h (152 mph) over 179.5 km (111.5 mi). The system's operating hours are from 06:00 to 24:00. Although all trains stop at Taipei, Banciao, and Taichung stations, there are different service patterns for other stations. For southbound trains:
Southbound trains are designated by odd train numbers. Northbound trains have the same numbering scheme, but have even train numbers. With the January 18, 2008, timetable, THSRC introduced train services that only operate on certain days of the week, designated by train numbers in the 1xxx range. Standard and Business Car compartments are available aboard each train, with the latter offering wider seating, individual audio entertainment systems, and power outlets for portable electronics in each seat.
Discounts from the normal fare apply to children, seniors, disabled people, groups of travellers, and return trips. From March 31, 2008, THSRC applied off-peak discounts on weekday trains. From July 1, 2010, these were replaced by fixed lower fares for Business Car tickets, and a new Standard Car ticketing system consisting of designated coaches with unassigned seats, non-reserved one-way tickets with a discount, and a smart card
system that provides frequent travellers with multi-ride tickets for eight trips or periodic tickets for 30 days. Following complaints by passengers who had to stand, the number of non-reserved seats was increased. A new combined off-peak and early booking discount was introduced on January 26, 2011. Early Bird 7 fares apply a 30% discount 15 to 31 days prior to travel, while Early Bird 9 fares apply a 10% discount 8 to 14 days prior to departure on selected trains.
THSRC operates additional train services during national holidays. On June 29, 2011, a proposal by THSRC to increase the maximum number of train services to 210 runs per day (compared to the existing 175 runs per day) passed an environmental impact assessment, increasing the number of services available on "high-load days".
The 10-millionth passenger was carried after 265 days on September 26, 2007, while the 100-millionth passenger was welcomed after 1,307 days on August 3, 2010. On April 6, 2008, the Tomb Sweeping Day
holiday, THSRC transported a single-day record of 132,000 passengers. On October 10, 2008, the Double Ten Day
holiday, a new record of 161,000 passengers a day was achieved. The next single-day record was achieved during Chinese New Year celebrations on February 5, 2011, at 190,588 passengers.
The high-speed trains have successfully out-competed planes: by August 2008, half of the air routes between Taipei and the country's western cities had been discontinued, including all connections between cities with THSR stations except for a single daily connection between Taipei and Kaohsiung. Total domestic air traffic was expected to be halved from 2006 to 2008, and actually fell from 8.6 to 4.9 million. The share for conventional rail between Taipei and Kaohsiung fell from 9.71% in 2006 to 2.5% in 2008, while high-speed rail became the most common mode of transport at 50% of all trips by 2008. The opening of THSR led to a 10% reduction of traffic on the parallel expressway
in 2007. Despite cheaper ticket prices, long-distance bus companies reported that passenger volumes had fallen by 20 to 30 percent by 2008.
Most of THSRC's revenue comes from ticket sales; income from non-core activities like renting advertisement and shop space amounts to about a tenth of the total. Revenues grew along with ridership over the first three years, but both measurements remained below expectations. In 2008 the second year of operation, revenues fell barely short of THSRC's expectations a year earlier of a doubling of first-year results.
The cost of running the trains and infrastructure, or cash operating cost
s, was initially over NT$1 billion a month, but was reduced to around NT$0.85–0.9 billion a month by 2008. Revenues first exceeded this level, thus generating a positive operating cash flow
, in the fourth month of operation (April 2007).
For THSRC, the delayed accounting of the fixed cost
of fixed asset
s like rolling stock and infrastructure (depreciation
) is a significant non-cash element of total operating costs. In its first two years of operation, THSRC applied straight-line depreciation, distributing costs evenly over a period of 26.5 years. As a result, the balance of operating revenues and costs (operating income
) showed a high loss in the first year of operation, which was only reduced as revenues grew in the second year. The depreciation period set for THSRC reflected the length of the BOT franchise rather than the much longer lifespan of the infrastructure, and the company blamed that factor for the operating loss. After adopting an activity depreciation method which is variable in time, THSRC posted its first operating profit for 2009, the third year of operation.
While THSRC's financial earnings are insignificant, the interest cost of financing the project with loans is a major item. In the first few years of operation, interest rates were well above market rates. Interest expense
stood at around NT$1.3 billion per month in April 2008, when THSRC first achieved break-even
cash flow
, with revenue and cash expenses (which exclude depreciation) both around NT$2.1 billion. Interest rates fell in the first half of 2009, reducing interest expenses and contributing to a reduced net loss
.
By the summer of 2009, THSRC's cumulative losses were equivalent to two-thirds of its equity capital
. The workforce had been cut from 3,600 to 2,500, work on the extension to Nangang
was temporarily halted, and the planned construction of three more intermediate stations was postponed. The company was put under new management in September 2009 with the aim of turning around the company's finances with government help in arranging refinancing of the loans. While the government decided that the construction of the three stations should proceed regardless, the company's creditors and founding shareholders refused to increase the loan package for the planned refinance.
The government took majority control of the company after the election of its new board on November 10, 2009. In January 2010, when accumulated losses already exceeded NT$70 billion, THSRC signed a government-guaranteed refinancing deal in which eight government-dominated banks provided NT$382 billion at lower interest rates and longer maturity. The government also approved the company's new variable depreciation charge.
During the global financial crisis, a political controversy emerged in Taiwan over "fat cats", corporate executives who receive high payments in spite of their companies' high losses, leading the government to call on THSRC executives to adopt pay cuts when it took over the company. Criticism of foreign "fat cats" continued and led to the voluntary halving of the pay of three foreign members of the board of directors in July 2010.
, which supplied components for the environmental control system, was asked by THSRC in July 2010 to help find the root cause.
On November 5, 2008, the driver of a maintenance car returning to Taipei Station started without permission and threw a switch, leading to delays of regular trains. On April 24, 2010, the driver of a THSRC train who had taken sleeping pills became "temporarily dysfunctional" for 13 minutes and had to be replaced at the next stop. In response, THSRC increased random inspections of drivers. The Control Yuan
criticised that THSRC did not report the event immediately to authorities, and censured authorities regarding the oversight of the management of train-driver job requirements.
THSRC installed no earthquake early warning system, only a simpler warning system with detectors along the track supplied by European firms, a decision criticised after the 921 earthquake
hit Taiwan on September 21, 1999. The system did stop trains during strong earthquakes on December 26, 2006
(during the trial operation period), November 5, 2009, December 19, 2009
, March 4, 2010
, and November 8, 2010. However, during the March 2010 event, there was one minor derailment, the evacuation of all passengers from stopped trains took hours and minor damage to the infrastructure took five days to repair. The possibility of a quicker earthquake alarm system was discussed by politicians; however, officials said that according to experts, the system used in Japan would not bring improvements due to the different geography of Taiwan. Nevertheless, there was room for improvement in evacuation procedures.
In April 2010, it was reported that on a 6 km (3.7 mi) section in Yunlin County
where THSR crosses on a viaduct, ground subsidence
was observed during construction. The subsidence continued, reaching up to 55 cm (21.7 in) over seven years. Subsidence slowed, which was ascribed to the closure of some deep wells operating in the region. Although the situation was judged safe with differential settlement along the viaduct of only a sixth of the permissible level, the BOHSR urged the closure of more wells. On July 25, 2011, the government announced plans to close almost 1,000 wells in Changhua
and Yunlin
County, reducing the amount of water pumped from deep wells by 210 million tonnes by 2021.
, is under construction for an January 2015 opening, while three more are scheduled to open in June 2015. These four stations are expected to increase passenger numbers by 5%.
To improve local public transit connections to THSR stations, the TRA is building two new spur lines
branching off from its Western Line. The Shalun Line
for Tainan opened on January 2, 2011, while the Liujia Line
for Hsinchu is set to open in August 2011.
, directed by Cheng Wen-Tang. A group of teenagers, one of whom is the son of a Japanese engineer working on the high-speed railway, hang out at a vacant lot under the elevated tracks of THSR in Liuying, Tainan. In Leg 10 of Season 12 of the internationally aired reality television game show The Amazing Race
, which was watched by 11.65 million Americans, competing teams travelled from Taipei to Taichung and back on the THSR.
Railfan: Taiwan High Speed Rail
, a train simulator
video game developed jointly by the Taiwanese company Actainment and the Japanese company Ongakukan on the basis of the latter's Train Simulator series
, was the first Taiwanese game for Sony Computer Entertainment
's PlayStation 3
system. The game features real video and was made with the help of THSRC's European train drivers. It was first released in a Chinese/English language version in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, in July 2007, with the Japanese version released in November 2007.
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
line that runs approximately 345 km (214 mi) along the west coast of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
from the national capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
to the southern city of Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
. With construction managed by a private company, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC), which also operates the line, the total cost of the project was US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
18 billion. At the time it was built this was one of the world's largest privately funded rail construction schemes. For most of its length the line runs on viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
s or through tunnels with technology mainly based on Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's Shinkansen
Shinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
system mixed with European standards and system components. The THSR 700T train series is a variant of the 700 Series Shinkansen
700 Series Shinkansen
The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type built between 1997 and 2006, and entering service in 1999. Originally designated as "N300", they formed the next generation of shinkansen vehicles jointly designed by JR Central and JR West for use on both Tōkaidō and Sanyō Shinkansen...
and was built by a consortium of Japanese rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
manufacturers.
Services began on January 5, 2007, using trains with a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph), which offer journey times from Taipei to Kaohsiung as short as 96 minutes. In comparison, trains operating on the conventional Western Line of the Taiwan Railway Administration
Taiwan Railway Administration
The Taiwan Railway Administration is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the Republic of China responsible for managing, maintaining, and running passenger and freight service on 1097 km of conventional railroad lines in Taiwan...
(TRA), take over four hours for the same journey. Tickets are more expensive than on normal trains or express buses, but cheaper than those for airplanes. Most intermediate stations on the line lie outside the cities served, with rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
connections constructed only after the opening of the line. Ridership initially fell short of forecasts, but grew from fewer than 40,000 passengers a day in the first few months to over 100,000 passengers a day in 2010. Once THSR began operations, almost all passengers switched from airlines flying parallel routes, while road traffic was also impacted. The system has carried over 135 million passengers since its opening.
In the initial years of operation, THSRC accumulated debt due to high depreciation
Depreciation
Depreciation refers to two very different but related concepts:# the decrease in value of assets , and# the allocation of the cost of assets to periods in which the assets are used ....
charges and interest, which originated in the financial structure set up for private capital to build and operate the line. Following the takeover of the company's board by the Taiwanese government in 2009, these financial problems were addressed by changing the method of accounting the cost of building the line and the trains, and by refinancing
Refinancing
Refinancing may refer to the replacement of an existing debt obligation with a debt obligation under different terms. The terms and conditions of refinancing may vary widely by country, province, or state, based on several economic factors such as, inherent risk, projected risk, political...
THSRC's loans. The present chairman of the board and chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the company is civil engineer Chin-der Ou
Ou Chin-der
Ou Chin-der is a Taiwanese civil engineer. Ou was an immigrant who moved from the mainland China to the Taitung County of eastern Taiwan with his parents...
.
Origins
Taiwan's rapid economic growthTaiwan Miracle
The Taiwan Miracle or Taiwan Economic Miracle refers to the rapid industrialization and economic growth of Taiwan during the latter half of the twentieth century...
during the latter half of the twentieth century led to saturation of highway, conventional rail, and air traffic systems in its western transport corridor, which threatened to impede further growth. The idea of a new rail line arose in the 1970s, and informal planning began in 1980. In 1987 the executive branch of Taiwan's government, the Executive Yuan
Executive Yuan
The Executive Yuan is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China , commonly known as "Taiwan".-Organization and structure:...
, instructed the Ministry of Transportation
Ministry of Transportation and Communications (Republic of China)
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the Republic of China is a cabinet-level governmental body of the Executive Yuan. It is in charge of all policy and regulation of transportation and communications networks and administration of all transportation and communications operations...
to launch a feasibility study for a high-speed rail line in the western Taiwan corridor, which was completed in 1990. The study found that in a comparison of potential solutions to traffic problems in the corridor, a high-speed rail line would offer the highest transit volume, lowest land use, highest energy savings, and lowest pollution. In July 1990 the Preparation Office of High Speed Rail (POHSR) was established and a route was selected in 1991. Plans for the THSR were subsequently approved by the Executive Yuan in June 1992 and by Taiwan's legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
, the Legislative Yuan
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China .The Legislative Yuan is one of the five branches of government stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of China, which follows Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People...
, in 1993.
Project structure
In November 1994, Taiwan passed a law regarding use of private finance in infrastructure projects, which also applied to the up to then state-run THSR project. Consequently, in 1995, POHSR was transformed into the Bureau of High Speed Rail (BOHSR), which started to tender THSR as a build-operate-transferBuild-Operate-Transfer
Build-own-operate-transfer or build-operate-transfer is a form of project financing, wherein a private entity receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct, and operate a facility stated in the concession contract...
(BOT) scheme in October 1996.
In a prolonged bidding process, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Consortium (THSRC) ran against the Chunghwa High Speed Rail Consortium (CHSRC). THSRC's bid was based on the high-speed technology platform of Eurotrain
Eurotrain
Eurotrain was a joint venture formed by Siemens and GEC-Alsthom to market high-speed rail technology in Asia. In 1997, it was one of two competitors to supply the core system of Taiwan High Speed Rail , and it was awarded the status of preferred bidder by concessionaire THSRC. Eurotrain assembled...
, a joint venture of GEC-Alsthom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
, the main manufacturer of the French TGV
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
, and Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, the main maker of the German ICE. CHSRC's bid was based on Japanese Shinkansen technology supplied by Taiwan Shinkansen Consortium (TSC), a joint venture between several Japanese companies. THSRC was chosen as the preferred bidder in September 1997 as a result of its cheaper bid and a promise to build the line with zero net cost to the government. The group was renamed and formally established as the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) in May 1998.
During the final BOT contract negotiations, THSRC and Eurotrain sought to convince BOHSR of the technical viability of their offer by staging a demonstration run with a hybrid train assembled specifically for this purpose, which achieved 315 km/h (196 mph) on a line in Germany on 4 May 1998. THSRC and the government signed the BOT agreement on July 23, 1998. In 1997 THSRC declared the Eurotrain consortium its preferred bidder to supply the core systems, which included trains, track, electrification, signalling, and communications. However, THSRC launched a formal tender in June 1999 and on December 28, 1999, announced that it would negotiate a final core systems contract with TSC. After protracted negotiations, the contract was finally signed on December 12, 2000.
Construction
Construction of the system took more than 2,000 professional engineers from 20 countries and over 20,000 foreign and domestic workers six years to complete. Construction work was broken into several specialized lots that were contracted separately. One group of contracts was for civil works, covering the construction of the superstructure of open line sections. Stations and depots were the subject of separate groups of construction lots. A fourth group of lots was for trackwork.Civil works
The first 15.8 km (9.8 mi) of the THSR line was part of the Taipei Railway Underground ProjectTaipei Railway Underground Project
The Taipei Railway Underground Project is an on-going project in the Republic of China capital Taipei to remove surface railway facilities, replacing them with a tunnel and new facilities outside the city limits...
, which aimed to replace surface railway facilities in downtown Taipei with tunnels and multi-level stations. Civil works, including the construction of two parallel tunnels for the THSR and TRA's Western Line, were under the responsibility of the Taipei Railway Underground Project Organisation (TRUPO). For the rest of the line, THSRC wrote out 11 civil works contracts, and work started after the signing of the contracts from March to May 2000.
Most of the line is carried on superstructure
Superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
s. About 251 km (156 mi) or 73% of the line runs on viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
s, mostly precast
Precast concrete
By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment , the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete...
prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete...
box girder
Box girder bridge
A box girder bridge is a bridge in which the main beams comprise girders in the shape of a hollow box. The box girder normally comprises either prestressed concrete, structural steel, or a composite of steel and reinforced concrete. The box is typically rectangular or trapezoidal in cross-section...
spans, the first of which was put in place in October 2001. A 157317 m (97.8 mi) continuous section from Paghuashan in Changhua County
Changhua County
Changhua County is the smallest county in Taiwan located on the westside of Taiwan. It is officially governed as a county of the Republic of China .-Urban townships:# Beidou Township # Erlin Township...
to Zuoying
Zuoying District
Zuoying District is an administrative district of Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan.-History:Zuoying was established in the mid-seventeenth century as a military fortress, known as Old Fengshan . It is now the site of Tsoying Harbour, known formerly as Port Saei...
in Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
was the world's longest elevated rail line section at the time of opening. Viaducts were designed to be earthquake resistant
Earthquake engineering
Earthquake engineering is the scientific field concerned with protecting society, the natural and the man-made environment from earthquakes by limiting the seismic risk to socio-economically acceptable levels...
to allow for trains to stop safely during a seismic event and for repairable damage following a maximum design earthquake. Bridges built over known fault lines were designed to survive fault movements without catastrophic damage.
About 61 km (37.9 mi) or 18% of the line is in tunnels, including 14 km (8.7 mi) of the TRUPO section in Taipei, as well as 48 tunnels with a total length of 46257 m (28.7 mi) on the other sections, the longest of which is Paghuashan Tunnel, at a finished length of 7364 m (24,160.1 ft). Forty-two of the tunnels included a total of 39050 m (24.265 mi) of mined sections, all of which were bored with the sequential excavation and support
New Austrian Tunnelling method
The New Austrian Tunnelling method was developed between 1957 and 1965 in Austria. It was given its name in Salzburg in 1962 to distinguish it from old Austrian tunnelling approach. The main contributors to the development of NATM were Ladislaus von Rabcewicz, Leopold Müller and Franz Pacher...
construction method, with excavated tunnel faces of 135–155 m² (1,453.1–1,668.4 sqft), between November 2000 and July 2003. The finished interior cross-sectional area of 90 m² (968.8 sq ft), set according to wider European standards, provides space for two tracks with safety walkways.
Environmental mitigation
Environmental mitigation
Environmental mitigation, compensatory mitigation, or mitigation banking, are terms used primarily by the United States government and the related environmental industry to describe projects or programs intended to offset known impacts to an existing historic or natural resource such as a stream,...
measures in the line's construction phase included the construction of animal bridges over the line, the planting and re-planting of trees along the track as noise screens
Noise barrier
A noise barrier is an exterior structure designed to protect sensitive land uses from noise pollution...
, and the purchase of farmland to create a preservation area for jacana
Jacana
The jaçanas are a group of tropical waders in the family Jacanidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone. See Etymology below for pronunciation....
birds away from the line.
Stations
The construction of stations was contracted separately in 2001 and work started in May 2002. Several stations were built on rural farmland without integration with existing urban transportation systems, with the intent of developing the area around the stations. Over 1500 hectares (15 km²) of land have been allocated around five stations for urban developmentsUrban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
. Stations were designed with certain limitations in mind; Taoyuan Station was limited to a maximum height of 23 m (75.5 ft) due to aircraft movements at nearby Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, while Hsinchu Station's roof design underwent wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
testing to demonstrate the ability to shift ground-level winds to higher elevations. Parking facilities
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
, drop-off areas, and food service areas were included in station design. Steel, glass, and reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
were used in the construction of all stations. Lighting systems for each station were contracted out to individual lighting designers. Stations were constructed with the possibility of connecting to future rapid transit or rail lines.
Track
Minimum railway curve radius
The minimum railway curve radius, the shortest design radius, has an important bearing on constructions costs and operating costs and, in combination with superelevation in the case of train tracks, determines the maximum safe speed of a curve. Superelevation is not a factor on tramway tracks...
of 6250 m (20,505 ft), track-centre distance of 4500 mm (177.2 in), right-of-way width of 18 m (59.1 ft), and a maximum gradient of 2.5%, except for 3.5% at one location. All but 3 km (1.9 mi) of track is ballastless
Track ballast
Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers or railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to facilitate drainage of water, to distribute the load from the railroad ties, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track...
, combining slab track of Japanese manufacture on open line sections with switches from a German supplier. Track laying began in July 2003. The line was electrified
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
with the 25 kV/60 Hz AC system. The signalling and train control system was laid out for bi-directional operation according to European specifications. Each track section has a checkpoint, and an automatic control system ensures that trains are spaced at least 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) apart to prevent collisions.
After four months of delays, trial runs using the first THSR 700T trains began on January 27, 2005, on the Tainan–Kaohsiung section. On October 30, 2005, a day after a test run passed the planned top service speed of 300 km/h (186 mph), the targeted maximum test speed of 315 km/h (196 mph) was achieved. The section between Banciao
Banqiao Station
Banqiao Station or Banciao Station is a train station located in Banqiao District, New Taipei, Taiwan. The station serves high-speed rail, conventional rail, and metro trains...
(Taipei) and Zuoying (Kaohsiung) opened to the public on January 5, 2007. The HSR platforms at Taipei Station opened on March 2, 2007, bringing the entire line into operation.
Costs and finances
When THSRC and the government signed the final contract in October 1999, project costs were estimated at NT$New Taiwan dollar
The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar...
445 billion, of which NT$375.5 billion were construction costs. During actual construction, due to changes in building codes, in particular seismic design criteria in the wake of the 921 earthquake
921 earthquake
The 921 earthquake , also known as Jiji earthquake , was a 7.3 Ms or 7.6 Mw earthquake which occurred at 1:47:12 am local time in Jiji , Nantou County, Taiwan. 2,415 people were killed, 11,305 injured, and NT$300 billion worth of damage was done...
, construction costs grew to NT$436.5 billion. Due to changing financial risks, the estimate for total costs first climbed over NT$510 billion before settling back down to NT$460 billion. A delay in opening also added to the costs, which came to a final figure of NT$480.6 billion, which was equal to about US$15 billion or €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
11.5 billion at the time the line opened.
Three-quarters of the project's funding in the construction phase came in the form of syndicated loan
Syndicated loan
A syndicated loan is one that is provided by a group of lenders and is structured, arranged, and administered by one or several commercial banks or investment banks known as arrangers....
s from banks. In February 2000 THSRC and a group of 25 domestic banks signed an agreement for a NT$323.3 billion package, of which NT$240 billion came from government deposits in the banks. In July 2006, after a delay in opening, seven banks agreed to provide a second loan package of NT$40.7 billion, and THSRC sought further funding abroad. To raise its own capital, the company sought investors. From January 2002, the government invested via state-owned companies, with its share reaching 37% in November 2005. From December 2003, THSRC began issuing preferred stock
Preferred stock
Preferred stock, also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds, is a special equity security that has properties of both an equity and a debt instrument and is generally considered a hybrid instrument...
.
Management and finances
THSRC's winning bid for the THSR franchise was based on Eurotrain's technology and specifications, and THSRC granted Eurotrain the status of preferred bidder for the supply of the core system technology; however, it ultimately chose TSC, citing "technology, price, finance and maintenance merits". At the time THSRC had difficulty raising capital for the project, both the Japanese government backing TSC and Eurotrain offered beneficial financial terms; TSC later agreed to buy a 10% stake in THSRC. According to Taiwanese media, the decision was political, made to pave the way for then-President Lee Teng-huiLee Teng-hui
Lee Teng-hui is a politician of the Republic of China . He was the 7th, 8th, and 9th-term President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct...
's visit to Japan, a claim THSRC denied. Lee himself made a case for picking the Japanese offer in a book, claiming safety and political advantages. The losing Eurotrain consortium contested the decision without success, but later won a lawsuit for damages; THSRC agreed to pay US$65 million (US$89 million with interest).
THSRC was criticised for repeatedly postponing the start of services. Delays due to financing problems and the drawn-out decision on the core systems supplier made the original target date of July 2003 untenable, and the opening date was changed to October 31, 2005. In September 2005 the opening date was postponed again by exactly one year, due to construction delays. Insufficient preparation for operations was the reason for further month-long delays to December 7, 2006, and finally January 5, 2007.
THSRC's finances were the subject of further controversy after the government stepped in to invest in the company following its failure to secure domestic bank guarantees for foreign loans. Lawmakers claimed that the total direct and indirect share of the government in the financing had reached 84%, and accused THSRC of breaking its contractual promise to not require public funds. The government countered that they were investing, not providing funding. Still, the legislature adopted a motion making the loan conditional on the full disclosure of deals with subcontractors, which the company claimed to have already done. THSRC's failure to meet its funding targets on time continued throughout the time of construction, and state-owned companies continued to invest in the company.
Design and implementation
On the TRUPO section in Taipei, THSR tracks were to replace TRA's existing tracks, leading to concerns on TRA's part that capacity would be limited during the construction period. TRA was to give up the tracks and some station platforms without receiving compensation or rent. Rail unions said that this arrangement would result in a reduction of TRA services by more than a fourth and lead to income and job loss. They organised a protest rally in March 2002, after which the Ministry of Transport agreed to re-negotiate the TRA–THSRC contract. The cancellation of some TRA train services resulting from the final station platform lease agreement led to another union protest and threat of strike actionStrike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
in February 2003. Unions continued to protest the TRA–THSRC agreement, accusing the government of having favored THSRC.
THSRC had disputes with core systems contractor TSC over technology and responsibility for delays. Already during the final contract negotiations, TSC objected to THSRC's intention to mix European and Japanese technology, citing safety reasons, and negotiations were drawn out. Prior to the planned opening in 2005, THSRC blamed TSC for construction delays, identifying that as the reason for the postponement of the opening. Japanese media sources blamed Japanese–European technology integration for the delay.
THSRC opponents also made claims about poor construction quality, which the company rejected, deeming them routine problems that had already been dealt with. A longer controversy emerged when high-tech firms in a business park close to the line expressed concerns regarding vibrations. The dispute led to design changes and the development of track buffers that was fraught with difficulties. Vibration levels during actual test runs were lower than expected.
Operational readiness
In May 2006 THSRC was criticized by the Minister of Transport for lagging behind in preparing for operations. In October and November 2006 two independent investigating teams concluded that there was insufficient testing to prove operational readiness and safety, problems that were to be dealt with while the opening was delayed. THSRC and its opponents continued to dispute until after the opening as to whether these issues had been resolved.As a legacy of working with Eurotrain, THSRC started operation of its Japanese-built trains with 40 French and 13 German drivers. THSRC planned to train enough local drivers to replace them in 18 months. The first Taiwanese drivers passed exams in May 2007. As of March 2008, THSR employed 54 Taiwanese and 35 foreign drivers, and the training and hiring of a sufficient number of local drivers (about 100 to reach its target level of service) was seen as a pressing issue for the future.
Rolling stock
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s (EMUs) of the 700T series, supplied by a consortium led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Kawasaki Heavy Industries
is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa....
. THSRC considered ordering an additional six to twelve trains in November 2008 to cope with increased demand expected by 2011.
The THSR 700T type is based on the 700 Series Shinkansen
700 Series Shinkansen
The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed train type built between 1997 and 2006, and entering service in 1999. Originally designated as "N300", they formed the next generation of shinkansen vehicles jointly designed by JR Central and JR West for use on both Tōkaidō and Sanyō Shinkansen...
train used by JR Central
Central Japan Railway Company
The is the main railway company operating in the Chūbu region of central Japan. It is officially abbreviated in English as JR Central and in Japanese as . Its headquarters are located in the JR Central Towers in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.The company's operational hub is Nagoya Station...
and JR West
West Japan Railway Company
, also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group companies and operates in western Honshū. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka.-History:...
in Japan. This marked the first time Shinkansen technology had been exported to a foreign country. The trains had to be adapted for Taiwanese climate conditions, had to meet European specifications—including additional safety measures—and the nose shape was optimised for tunnels wider than those in Japan.
The maximum service speed of the trains was raised from the 700 Series Shinkansen's 285 to 300 km/h (177.1 to 186.4 mph). The 12 cars of a 700T train are grouped in three traction units with three power cars and one trailer each, providing 10.26 MW of power; both end cars are trailers to avoid slip on powered bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s. The train is 304 m (997 ft) long and has a mass of 503 t (554 ST) when empty. The trains have a passenger capacity of 989 seats in two classes: 66 seats in 2+2 configuration in the single Business Car and 923 in 2+3 configuration in the eleven Standard Cars. The per capita energy consumption of a fully loaded 700T train is 16% of that of private cars and half that of buses; carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
emissions are 11% of private cars and a quarter that of buses.
Services
THSR Taichung Station
THSR Taichung Station is an elevated station of the Taiwan High Speed Rail located in Wuri District, Taichung City, Taiwan. Transfers can be made to Xinwuri Station on the TRA Western Line. It is currently the only high speed rail station in central Taiwan prior to completion of additional...
to Zuoying averaging 244.7 km/h (152 mph) over 179.5 km (111.5 mi). The system's operating hours are from 06:00 to 24:00. Although all trains stop at Taipei, Banciao, and Taichung stations, there are different service patterns for other stations. For southbound trains:
- Train numbers 1xx, 2xx: Taipei to Zuoying, stops at Banciao and Taichung only
- Train numbers 3xx: Taipei to Zuoying, stops at Banciao/Taoyuan, Taichung, Chiayi, and Tainan
- Train numbers 5xx: Taipei to Taichung or Taichung to Zuoying, stops at all intermediate stations (local service)
- Train numbers 6xx, 7xx: Taipei to Zuoying, stops at all stations (local service)
Southbound trains are designated by odd train numbers. Northbound trains have the same numbering scheme, but have even train numbers. With the January 18, 2008, timetable, THSRC introduced train services that only operate on certain days of the week, designated by train numbers in the 1xxx range. Standard and Business Car compartments are available aboard each train, with the latter offering wider seating, individual audio entertainment systems, and power outlets for portable electronics in each seat.
Tickets and fares
THSR started service with reserved tickets only. The fare was set below the level of airline tickets and above that of long-distance bus and conventional train tickets. For a one-way Taipei–Zuoying trip, a Standard Car ticket is NT$1,490, which was about US$45 in 2007; a Business Car ticket is NT$1,950, a reduction from the original NT$2,440 price of 2007.Discounts from the normal fare apply to children, seniors, disabled people, groups of travellers, and return trips. From March 31, 2008, THSRC applied off-peak discounts on weekday trains. From July 1, 2010, these were replaced by fixed lower fares for Business Car tickets, and a new Standard Car ticketing system consisting of designated coaches with unassigned seats, non-reserved one-way tickets with a discount, and a smart card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
system that provides frequent travellers with multi-ride tickets for eight trips or periodic tickets for 30 days. Following complaints by passengers who had to stand, the number of non-reserved seats was increased. A new combined off-peak and early booking discount was introduced on January 26, 2011. Early Bird 7 fares apply a 30% discount 15 to 31 days prior to travel, while Early Bird 9 fares apply a 10% discount 8 to 14 days prior to departure on selected trains.
Train frequency
Train frequency was ramped up progressively from an initial 38 per day. A maximum 176 train runs per day is possible with the current 30 trainsets. This was expected to be reached by the end of 2009. However, with the onset of the global economic crisis, train frequency was reduced instead. Starting from July 1, 2009, train frequency was progressively increased again.| Direction | | Trains per day | | Trains per week | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | ||
| Southbound | 62 | 61 | 70 | 69 | 71 | 455 | ||
| Northbound | 63 | 62 | 70 | 66 | 75 | 460 | ||
| Both directions | 125 | 123 | 140 | 135 | 146 | 915 | ||
THSRC operates additional train services during national holidays. On June 29, 2011, a proposal by THSRC to increase the maximum number of train services to 210 runs per day (compared to the existing 175 runs per day) passed an environmental impact assessment, increasing the number of services available on "high-load days".
Ridership
Original estimates foresaw a daily ridership of 180,000 after launch, growing to 400,000 by 2036. In view of a 50% drop in airline passengers in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, forecasts were revised downwards. The final initial ridership estimate was 140,000 passengers per day. Actual initial ridership did not match these projections. In September 2007, six months after opening, THSRC carried 1.5 million passengers monthly, translating to about 50,000 passengers daily. Services did not start at full capacity. In the second year, passenger numbers almost doubled. In the third year, average daily ridership continued to grow to 88,000 passengers per day, jumping to over 101,000 passengers per day in 2010. Seat occupancy was around 45% in the first three years, with a modest improvement achieved in 2009. Punctuality is stable above 99%.| Year | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ridership | 15,555,656 | 30,581,261 | 32,349,260 | 36,939,596 |
| Seat occupancy | 44.72% | 43.51% | 46.31% | |
| Punctuality (5 minutes) | 99.47% | 99.19% | 99.25% | 99.21% |
The 10-millionth passenger was carried after 265 days on September 26, 2007, while the 100-millionth passenger was welcomed after 1,307 days on August 3, 2010. On April 6, 2008, the Tomb Sweeping Day
Qingming Festival
The Qingming Festival , Pure Brightness Festival or Clear Bright Festival, Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice , usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar...
holiday, THSRC transported a single-day record of 132,000 passengers. On October 10, 2008, the Double Ten Day
Double Ten Day
Double Ten Day is the national day of the Republic of China and celebrates the start of the Wuchang Uprising of October 10, 1911, which led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in China and establishment of the Republic of China on January 1, 1912...
holiday, a new record of 161,000 passengers a day was achieved. The next single-day record was achieved during Chinese New Year celebrations on February 5, 2011, at 190,588 passengers.
The high-speed trains have successfully out-competed planes: by August 2008, half of the air routes between Taipei and the country's western cities had been discontinued, including all connections between cities with THSR stations except for a single daily connection between Taipei and Kaohsiung. Total domestic air traffic was expected to be halved from 2006 to 2008, and actually fell from 8.6 to 4.9 million. The share for conventional rail between Taipei and Kaohsiung fell from 9.71% in 2006 to 2.5% in 2008, while high-speed rail became the most common mode of transport at 50% of all trips by 2008. The opening of THSR led to a 10% reduction of traffic on the parallel expressway
National Highway No. 1 (Taiwan)
National Highway No. 1 is the first freeway in Taiwan. It begins in Keelung City at the intersection of Ziao 2nd Road and Jhong 4th Road and ends in Kaohsiung City at the intersection of Jhongshan 4th Road and Yugang Road, giving it a total length of 372.8 km...
in 2007. Despite cheaper ticket prices, long-distance bus companies reported that passenger volumes had fallen by 20 to 30 percent by 2008.
Revenues and costs
| Item | | 2007 | | 2008 | | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket revenue Revenue In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover.... |
13,155,221 | 22,441,012 | 22,800,753 |
| Other operating revenue | 347,567 | 606,571 | 522,959 |
| Operating revenue | 13,502,788 | 23,047,583 | 23,323,712 |
| Cash operating expense Operating expense An operating expense, operating expenditure, operational expense, operational expenditure or OPEX is an ongoing cost for running a product, business, or system . Its counterpart, a capital expenditure , is the cost of developing or providing non-consumable parts for the product or system... s |
−9,484,615 | −10,210,530 | −9,441,068 |
| Operating cash flow Operating cash flow In financial accounting, operating cash flow , cash flow provided by operations or cash flow from operating activities , refers to the amount of cash a company generates from the revenues it brings in, excluding costs associated with long-term investment on capital items or investment in securities... |
4,018,173 | 12,837,053 | 13,882,644 |
| Depreciation Depreciation Depreciation refers to two very different but related concepts:# the decrease in value of assets , and# the allocation of the cost of assets to periods in which the assets are used .... |
−18,589,587 | −18,994,251 | −8,222,634 |
| Amortization Amortization Amortization is the process of decreasing, or accounting for, an amount over a period. The word comes from Middle English amortisen to kill, alienate in mortmain, from Anglo-French amorteser, alteration of amortir, from Vulgar Latin admortire to kill, from Latin ad- + mort-, mors death.When used... |
−67,643 | −81,355 | −95,164 |
| Operating income Profit (accounting) In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are... |
−14,909,057 | −6,238,553 | 5,564,846 |
| Financial revenue | 315,187 | 644,500 | 639,869 |
| Interest Interest Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds.... |
−14,423,091 | −17,464,896 | −10,778,335 |
| Other financial expenses | −381,733 | −1,950,748 | −217,505 |
| Net pre-tax income Earnings before taxes Earnings before taxes is the money retained by the firm before deducting the money to be paid for taxes. E.B.T includes the money paid for interest. Thus, it can be calculated by subtracting the interest from EBIT .... |
−29,398,694 | −25,009,697 | −4,791,125 |
| Tax Tax To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities... /tax refund Tax refund A tax refund or tax rebate is a refund on taxes when the tax liability is less than the taxes paid. Taxpayers can often get a tax refund on their income tax if the tax they owe is less than the sum of the total amount of the withholding taxes and estimated taxes that they paid, plus the... |
−54 | 0 | 1,670 |
| Net income Net income Net income is the residual income of a firm after adding total revenue and gains and subtracting all expenses and losses for the reporting period. Net income can be distributed among holders of common stock as a dividend or held by the firm as an addition to retained earnings... |
−29,398,748 | −25,009,697 | −4,789,455 |
| All figures are in thousands of NT$. | |||
Most of THSRC's revenue comes from ticket sales; income from non-core activities like renting advertisement and shop space amounts to about a tenth of the total. Revenues grew along with ridership over the first three years, but both measurements remained below expectations. In 2008 the second year of operation, revenues fell barely short of THSRC's expectations a year earlier of a doubling of first-year results.
The cost of running the trains and infrastructure, or cash operating cost
Operating cost
Operating costs can be described as the expenses which are related to the operation of a business, or to the operation of a device, component, piece of equipment or facility.-Business operating costs:...
s, was initially over NT$1 billion a month, but was reduced to around NT$0.85–0.9 billion a month by 2008. Revenues first exceeded this level, thus generating a positive operating cash flow
Operating cash flow
In financial accounting, operating cash flow , cash flow provided by operations or cash flow from operating activities , refers to the amount of cash a company generates from the revenues it brings in, excluding costs associated with long-term investment on capital items or investment in securities...
, in the fourth month of operation (April 2007).
For THSRC, the delayed accounting of the fixed cost
Fixed cost
In economics, fixed costs are business expenses that are not dependent on the level of goods or services produced by the business. They tend to be time-related, such as salaries or rents being paid per month, and are often referred to as overhead costs...
of fixed asset
Fixed asset
Fixed assets, also known as a non-current asset or as property, plant, and equipment , is a term used in accounting for assets and property which cannot easily be converted into cash. This can be compared with current assets such as cash or bank accounts, which are described as liquid assets...
s like rolling stock and infrastructure (depreciation
Depreciation
Depreciation refers to two very different but related concepts:# the decrease in value of assets , and# the allocation of the cost of assets to periods in which the assets are used ....
) is a significant non-cash element of total operating costs. In its first two years of operation, THSRC applied straight-line depreciation, distributing costs evenly over a period of 26.5 years. As a result, the balance of operating revenues and costs (operating income
Profit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
) showed a high loss in the first year of operation, which was only reduced as revenues grew in the second year. The depreciation period set for THSRC reflected the length of the BOT franchise rather than the much longer lifespan of the infrastructure, and the company blamed that factor for the operating loss. After adopting an activity depreciation method which is variable in time, THSRC posted its first operating profit for 2009, the third year of operation.
While THSRC's financial earnings are insignificant, the interest cost of financing the project with loans is a major item. In the first few years of operation, interest rates were well above market rates. Interest expense
Interest expense
Interest expense relates to the cost of borrowing money. It is the price that a lender charges a borrower for the use of the lender's money. Interest expense is different from OPEX and CAPEX, for it relates to the capital structure of a company. Interest expense is usually tax-deductible....
stood at around NT$1.3 billion per month in April 2008, when THSRC first achieved break-even
Break-even (economics)
In economics & business, specifically cost accounting, the break-even point is the point at which cost or expenses and revenue are equal: there is no net loss or gain, and one has "broken even"...
cash flow
Cash flow
Cash flow is the movement of money into or out of a business, project, or financial product. It is usually measured during a specified, finite period of time. Measurement of cash flow can be used for calculating other parameters that give information on a company's value and situation.Cash flow...
, with revenue and cash expenses (which exclude depreciation) both around NT$2.1 billion. Interest rates fell in the first half of 2009, reducing interest expenses and contributing to a reduced net loss
Net income
Net income is the residual income of a firm after adding total revenue and gains and subtracting all expenses and losses for the reporting period. Net income can be distributed among holders of common stock as a dividend or held by the firm as an addition to retained earnings...
.
Management
In cumulative figures, until July 2008, depreciation and interest were equal to 95% of THSRC's accumulated debt. Both THSRC and a September 2009 government report identified an unreasonable financial structure and the resulting high interest rates and high depreciation charges as the main causes of negative financial performance, while the government assessed THSRC to have performed well in its core business, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). To reduce its interest load, THSRC sought to revise its loan structure in 2008 and again in 2009. To reduce depreciation costs by increasing the amortization time, THSRC requested an extension of its 35-year concession period.By the summer of 2009, THSRC's cumulative losses were equivalent to two-thirds of its equity capital
Equity (finance)
In accounting and finance, equity is the residual claim or interest of the most junior class of investors in assets, after all liabilities are paid. If liability exceeds assets, negative equity exists...
. The workforce had been cut from 3,600 to 2,500, work on the extension to Nangang
Nangang Station
Nangang Station is a major train station located in Nangang, Taipei, Taiwan, parallel to Zhongxiao East Road. The station serves several modes of public transportation, including the bus system, Taiwan Railway Administration, and Taipei Metro...
was temporarily halted, and the planned construction of three more intermediate stations was postponed. The company was put under new management in September 2009 with the aim of turning around the company's finances with government help in arranging refinancing of the loans. While the government decided that the construction of the three stations should proceed regardless, the company's creditors and founding shareholders refused to increase the loan package for the planned refinance.
The government took majority control of the company after the election of its new board on November 10, 2009. In January 2010, when accumulated losses already exceeded NT$70 billion, THSRC signed a government-guaranteed refinancing deal in which eight government-dominated banks provided NT$382 billion at lower interest rates and longer maturity. The government also approved the company's new variable depreciation charge.
During the global financial crisis, a political controversy emerged in Taiwan over "fat cats", corporate executives who receive high payments in spite of their companies' high losses, leading the government to call on THSRC executives to adopt pay cuts when it took over the company. Criticism of foreign "fat cats" continued and led to the voluntary halving of the pay of three foreign members of the board of directors in July 2010.
Technical issues, incidents, and accidents
From the month of opening, January 2007, THSRC was repeatedly hit by delays due to malfunctioning end position detectors in switches. On August 1 and 3, 2009, THSRC had to cancel some trains due to switch malfunctions. The 30th incident, on August 9, 2010, involved a switch replaced for malfunctioning the previous month. SiemensSiemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
, which supplied components for the environmental control system, was asked by THSRC in July 2010 to help find the root cause.
On November 5, 2008, the driver of a maintenance car returning to Taipei Station started without permission and threw a switch, leading to delays of regular trains. On April 24, 2010, the driver of a THSRC train who had taken sleeping pills became "temporarily dysfunctional" for 13 minutes and had to be replaced at the next stop. In response, THSRC increased random inspections of drivers. The Control Yuan
Control Yuan
The Control Yuan , one of the five branches of the Republic of China government in Taipei, is an investigatory agency that monitors the other branches of government...
criticised that THSRC did not report the event immediately to authorities, and censured authorities regarding the oversight of the management of train-driver job requirements.
THSRC installed no earthquake early warning system, only a simpler warning system with detectors along the track supplied by European firms, a decision criticised after the 921 earthquake
921 earthquake
The 921 earthquake , also known as Jiji earthquake , was a 7.3 Ms or 7.6 Mw earthquake which occurred at 1:47:12 am local time in Jiji , Nantou County, Taiwan. 2,415 people were killed, 11,305 injured, and NT$300 billion worth of damage was done...
hit Taiwan on September 21, 1999. The system did stop trains during strong earthquakes on December 26, 2006
2006 Hengchun earthquake
The 2006 Hengchun earthquake occurred on Tuesday December 26, 2006 at 12:25 UTC , with an epicenter off the southwest coast of Taiwan, approximately 22.8 km west southwest of Hengchun, Pingtung County, Taiwan, with an exact hypocenter 21.9 km deep in the Luzon Strait , which connects the...
(during the trial operation period), November 5, 2009, December 19, 2009
2009 Hualien earthquake
thumb|right|240px|Intensity MapThe 2009 Hualien earthquake was a Mw 6.4 earthquake which occurred on December 19, 2009 at 21:02:16 off the coast of Hualian, Taiwan. The Central Weather Bureau put the magnitude at ML 6.8...
, March 4, 2010
2010 Kaohsiung earthquake
The 2010 Kaohsiung Earthquake measuring 6.4 ML occurred on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 8:20 a.m. local time. The epicenter was located in the mountainous area of Kaohsiung County of the southwestern Taiwan. It was the most powerful earthquake in Kaohsiung since 1900...
, and November 8, 2010. However, during the March 2010 event, there was one minor derailment, the evacuation of all passengers from stopped trains took hours and minor damage to the infrastructure took five days to repair. The possibility of a quicker earthquake alarm system was discussed by politicians; however, officials said that according to experts, the system used in Japan would not bring improvements due to the different geography of Taiwan. Nevertheless, there was room for improvement in evacuation procedures.
In April 2010, it was reported that on a 6 km (3.7 mi) section in Yunlin County
Yunlin County
Yunlin County is a county in the western part of Taiwan, the Republic of China. Yunlin is located to the right of the Taiwan Strait, the east of Nantou County and sharing a border with Changhua County divided by the Zhuoshui River. Yunlin is one of the counties of Taiwan that is part of the Chianan...
where THSR crosses on a viaduct, ground subsidence
Subsidence
Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
was observed during construction. The subsidence continued, reaching up to 55 cm (21.7 in) over seven years. Subsidence slowed, which was ascribed to the closure of some deep wells operating in the region. Although the situation was judged safe with differential settlement along the viaduct of only a sixth of the permissible level, the BOHSR urged the closure of more wells. On July 25, 2011, the government announced plans to close almost 1,000 wells in Changhua
Changhua County
Changhua County is the smallest county in Taiwan located on the westside of Taiwan. It is officially governed as a county of the Republic of China .-Urban townships:# Beidou Township # Erlin Township...
and Yunlin
Yunlin County
Yunlin County is a county in the western part of Taiwan, the Republic of China. Yunlin is located to the right of the Taiwan Strait, the east of Nantou County and sharing a border with Changhua County divided by the Zhuoshui River. Yunlin is one of the counties of Taiwan that is part of the Chianan...
County, reducing the amount of water pumped from deep wells by 210 million tonnes by 2021.
Stations and connections
Thirteen Taiwan High Speed Rail stations were planned in the western corridor, with eight stations already open. One more, Nangang StationNangang Station
Nangang Station is a major train station located in Nangang, Taipei, Taiwan, parallel to Zhongxiao East Road. The station serves several modes of public transportation, including the bus system, Taiwan Railway Administration, and Taipei Metro...
, is under construction for an January 2015 opening, while three more are scheduled to open in June 2015. These four stations are expected to increase passenger numbers by 5%.
To improve local public transit connections to THSR stations, the TRA is building two new spur lines
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
branching off from its Western Line. The Shalun Line
Shalun Line
The Shalun Line is a branch line of the Taiwan Railway Administration Western Line in Tainan City, Taiwan. It was built to link the Western Line to the Taiwan High Speed Rail Tainan Station, speeding up transit times between downtown Tainan and the THSR station, with services running from Nanke...
for Tainan opened on January 2, 2011, while the Liujia Line
Liujia Line
The Liujia Line is a branch line of the Taiwan Railway Administration Western Line in Hsinchu County, Taiwan. It was built to link the Western Line to the Taiwan High Speed Rail Hsinchu Station, speeding up transit times between the two forms of rail service and, by extension, downtown Hsinchu...
for Hsinchu is set to open in August 2011.
| Station (opens in) |
Distance (km) | | Stopping pattern | Connecting services | Type | |Location | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nangang Nangang Station Nangang Station is a major train station located in Nangang, Taipei, Taiwan, parallel to Zhongxiao East Road. The station serves several modes of public transportation, including the bus system, Taiwan Railway Administration, and Taipei Metro... (Jan. 2015) |
南港 | −3.270 | TRA – Western Line (Nangang Station) Taipei Metro – Nangang Line Nangang Line (TRTS) The Taipei Metro Nangang Line is a high-capacity, underground rapid transit line on the Taipei Metro in Taipei, Taiwan. It has 12 stations, is -long and runs east-west through downtown starting in Zhongzheng and ending in Nangang, Taipei... (Nangang Station) |
underground | Nangang District | Taipei City Taipei Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean... |
|||||
| Taipei | 台北 | 5.904 | ● | ● | ● | ● | TRA – Western Line (Taipei Station) Taoyuan Airport MRT (Aug. 2014) Taipei Metro – Tamsui Line, Banqiao Line Banqiao Line (TRTS) The Taipei Metro Banqiao Line is a high-capacity underground line and is a major transportation route between Taipei and New Taipei. It runs from Ximen in western Taipei to Fuzhong in eastern Taipei, consisting of 6 stations and 7.2 km of track... (Taipei Main Station) |
underground | Zhongzheng District | ||
| Banciao Banqiao Station Banqiao Station or Banciao Station is a train station located in Banqiao District, New Taipei, Taiwan. The station serves high-speed rail, conventional rail, and metro trains... |
板橋 | 13.120 | ● | ● | ● | ● | TRA – Western Line (Banqiao Station) Taipei Metro – Banqiao Line, Circular Line Circular Line (TRTS) The Taipei Metro Circular Line is an elevated, medium-capacity rapid transit in Taipei and New Taipei, Taiwan. It is currently under construction with the first section scheduled to open in 2015... (Banqiao Station) |
underground | Banqiao District Banqiao District Banqiao District is the city seat of New Taipei in northern Taiwan . It has the third highest population density in Taiwan. It was formerly the 22nd densest city in the world, with over 24,000 people per square km... |
New Taipei City | |
| Taoyuan THSR Taoyuan Station THSR Taoyuan Station is an underground station of the Taiwan High Speed Rail located in Zhongli City, Taoyuan County, Taiwan. It is also known as Chingpu Station .-Overview:The underground station has two side platforms... |
桃園 | 42.285 | ｜ | ｜ | ● | ● | THSR Free Shuttle Bus Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT System Taoyuan Mass Rapid Transit System Taoyuan Mass Rapid Transit System Taoyuan Rail Transit is a proposed rapid transit system for the Taoyuan area in Taiwan. The proposed network will consist of five lines... – Blue Line (Jun. 2013) |
underground | Zhongli City Zhongli, Taiwan Zhongli City , formerly Chungli , is a city in Taoyuan County of Taiwan, Republic of China. It became a city before Taoyuan City, the county seat of Taoyuan County... |
Taoyuan County | |
| Hsinchu THSR Hsinchu Station THSR Hsinchu Station is an elevated station of Taiwan High Speed Rail located in Zhubei, Hsinchu County, Taiwan. It opened for service in 2006. The THSR Hsinchu Station was designed by Taiwanese architect Kris Yao.-Overview:... |
新竹 | 72.179 | ｜ | ｜ | ● | ● | THSR Free Shuttle Bus TRA – Liujia Line Liujia Line The Liujia Line is a branch line of the Taiwan Railway Administration Western Line in Hsinchu County, Taiwan. It was built to link the Western Line to the Taiwan High Speed Rail Hsinchu Station, speeding up transit times between the two forms of rail service and, by extension, downtown Hsinchu... (Liujia Station) (Aug. 2011) |
elevated | Zhubei City | Hsinchu County Hsinchu County Hsinchu County is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; there is a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the capital of Hsinchu, where the government office and county office is located... |
|
| Miaoli (Jun. 2015) |
苗栗 | 104.865 | ｜ | ｜ | ｜ | ｜ | TRA – Taichung Line Taichung Line The Taichung Line is a line of the Taiwan Railway Administration. It is also known as the Mountain Line. It has a total length of 87.6 km, of which all but 2.1 km is double track.... (Fengfu Station) |
elevated | Houlong Township Houlong, Miaoli Houlong Township is an urban township in western Miaoli County, Taiwan. It is surrounded by the Taiwan Strait on the west and Zaoqiao Township on the east.*Area: 75.809 km²*Population: 39,860 people -External links:*... |
Miaoli County Miaoli County Miaoli County is a county in western Taiwan. The name Miaoli was coined using two Hakka words, cat and raccoon dog , which phonetically approximate Pali , a community of Taokas people... |
|
| Taichung THSR Taichung Station THSR Taichung Station is an elevated station of the Taiwan High Speed Rail located in Wuri District, Taichung City, Taiwan. Transfers can be made to Xinwuri Station on the TRA Western Line. It is currently the only high speed rail station in central Taiwan prior to completion of additional... |
台中 | 165.733 | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | THSR Free Shuttle Bus TRA – Western Line (Xinwuri Station) Taichung MRT Taichung Metropolitan Area MRT System The Taichung Metro is a rapid transit system currently being constructed by the city government of Taichung, Taiwan . In addition to Taichung City, it may serve Changhua and Nantou counties.-Overview:The Taichung Metro Green Line is currently under construction, with completion scheduled for... – Green Line (Xinwuri Station) (2015) |
elevated | Wuri District | Taichung City Taichung -Demographics:Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August 2006. There are slightly more females in the city than males.24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly.... |
| Changhua (Jun. 2015) |
彰化 | 193.886 | ｜ | ｜ | ｜ | ｜ | TRA – Western Line (New Tianzhong Station) | elevated | Tianzhong Township | Changhua County Changhua County Changhua County is the smallest county in Taiwan located on the westside of Taiwan. It is officially governed as a county of the Republic of China .-Urban townships:# Beidou Township # Erlin Township... |
|
| Yunlin (Jun. 2015) |
雲林 | 218.480 | ｜ | ｜ | ｜ | ｜ | elevated | Huwei Township | Yunlin County Yunlin County Yunlin County is a county in the western part of Taiwan, the Republic of China. Yunlin is located to the right of the Taiwan Strait, the east of Nantou County and sharing a border with Changhua County divided by the Zhuoshui River. Yunlin is one of the counties of Taiwan that is part of the Chianan... |
||
| Chiayi THSR Chiayi Station THSR Chiayi Station is an elevated station of the Taiwan High Speed Rail located in Taibao, Chiayi County, Taiwan.-Overview:The station is elevated with two side platforms. The two platforms are connected by an overhead skyway. The station was designed by Fei & Cheng Associates and constructed... |
嘉義 | 251.585 | ｜ | ● | ● | ● | Chiayi Bus Rapid Transit Chiayi Bus Rapid Transit Chiayi Bus Rapid Transit is a limited-stop express bus service operating in Taiwan, linking Chiayi High Speed Rail Station and downtown Chiayi City. It uses exclusive bus lanes and GPS-controlled traffic lights to aid a speedy transfer between stations.... |
elevated | Taibao City | Chiayi County Chiayi County Chiayi County is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. Its historical name in Taiwanese Hokkien derives from Tsirosen in the Formosan languages... |
|
| Tainan THSR Tainan Station THSR Tainan Station is a Taiwan High Speed Rail station located in Guiren District, Tainan City, Taiwan. In addition to busing ,passengers can arrive downtown or Southern Taiwan Science Park by Shalun Station closed to the station .-Overview:The station is an elevated structure with two side... |
台南 | 313.860 | ｜ | ● | ● | ● | THSR Free Shuttle Bus TRA – Shalun Line Shalun Line The Shalun Line is a branch line of the Taiwan Railway Administration Western Line in Tainan City, Taiwan. It was built to link the Western Line to the Taiwan High Speed Rail Tainan Station, speeding up transit times between downtown Tainan and the THSR station, with services running from Nanke... (Shalun Station Shalun Station Shalun Station is a railway station which opened on January 2, 2011. It is operated by the Taiwan Railway Administration and is a terminal station on the Shalun Line, located in Guiren District, Tainan City, Taiwan. It connects to the THSR Tainan Station.... ) |
elevated | Guiren District | Tainan City Tainan Tainan City is a city in southern Taiwan. It is the fifth largest after New Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Taipei. It was formerly a provincial city, and in 2010, the provincial city merged with the adjacent Tainan County to form a single special municipality. Tainan faces the Taiwan Strait in... |
|
| Zuoying | 左營 | 345.187 | ● | ● | ● | ● | TRA – Western Line (Xinzuoying Station) Kaohsiung MRT Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit The Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System is a rapid transit system covering metropolitan Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Construction of the KMRT started in October 2001. The Red Line and the Orange Line opened on March 9 and September 14, 2008, respectively... – Red Line (Zuoying Station) |
ground level | Zuoying District Zuoying District Zuoying District is an administrative district of Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan.-History:Zuoying was established in the mid-seventeenth century as a military fortress, known as Old Fengshan . It is now the site of Tsoying Harbour, known formerly as Port Saei... |
Kaohsiung City Kaohsiung Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China... |
|
| Kaohsiung Kaohsiung Station Kaohsiung Station is a railway station located in Sanmin District of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China, which serves the Taiwan Railway Administration Western Line, Pingtung Line, Kaohsiung Harbor Line and the Kaohsiung MRT Red Line... (future) |
高雄 | TRA – Western Line, Pingtung Line Pingtung Line The Pingtung Line is a line of the Taiwan Railway Administration. It is 61.3 km long, of which 20.9 km is double track. -History:This railroad was completed in 1941.It is electrified with two tracks from Kaohsiung to Pingtung.... (Kaohsiung Station) Kaohsiung MRT Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit The Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System is a rapid transit system covering metropolitan Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Construction of the KMRT started in October 2001. The Red Line and the Orange Line opened on March 9 and September 14, 2008, respectively... – Red Line (Kaohsiung Main Station) |
underground | Sanmin District Sanmin District Sanmin District is a district of Kaohsiung city in southern Taiwan.-External links:*... |
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| ●: service stops at station; ｜: service passes through station | |||||||||||
In popular culture
The first film to feature THSR prominently was the 2007 Taiwanese movie Summer's TailSummer's Tail
Summer's Tail is a 2007 Taiwanese film directed by Cheng Wen-Tang.-Cast:* Bryant Chang Jui-Chia as Jimmy Chan* Dean Fujioka as Akira Fuwa* Enno as Yvette Chang* Hannah Lin Han as Wendy Lin...
, directed by Cheng Wen-Tang. A group of teenagers, one of whom is the son of a Japanese engineer working on the high-speed railway, hang out at a vacant lot under the elevated tracks of THSR in Liuying, Tainan. In Leg 10 of Season 12 of the internationally aired reality television game show The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race is a reality television game show in which teams of two people, who have some form of a preexisting personal relationship, race around the world in competition with other teams...
, which was watched by 11.65 million Americans, competing teams travelled from Taipei to Taichung and back on the THSR.
Railfan: Taiwan High Speed Rail
Railfan: Taiwan High Speed Rail
Railfan: Taiwan High Speed Rail is a July 12, 2007 train simulator co-developed by Ongakukan and Actainment for the PlayStation 3 system. The Asian market edition for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore is available in Traditional Chinese and English languages...
, a train simulator
Train simulator
A train simulator is a computer based simulation of rail transport operations.-Industrial train simulations:Like flight simulators, train simulators have been produced for railway training purposes...
video game developed jointly by the Taiwanese company Actainment and the Japanese company Ongakukan on the basis of the latter's Train Simulator series
Train Simulator series
Train Simulator is a Japanese train simulation game series produced by Ongakukan. The game is significant as it is was one of the earliest of its kind since the series started in 1995...
, was the first Taiwanese game for Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
's PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
system. The game features real video and was made with the help of THSRC's European train drivers. It was first released in a Chinese/English language version in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, in July 2007, with the Japanese version released in November 2007.