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‘Cruise liner’ train leaves Hualien for southeastern tour

A “cruise liner-style” railway train left from Hualien Railway Station yesterday carrying more than 300 passengers on a one-day special tour of southeastern Taiwan.

The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA, 台鐵) launched the first tourism-oriented train of its kind in an effort to attract tourists to use TRA trains for sightseeing.

Unlike the usual trains that only stop for a short time at each station, the “cruise train” makes longer stops at selected stations — in much the same way an international cruise liner does — a TRA press release said.

The train departed at 7:30am, making stops in Jian (吉安), Wanrong (萬榮), Dongli (東里) and Fuli (富里) before arriving in Taitung County’s Guanshan (關山).

The train also ran at speeds as low as 35kph to allow passengers to enjoy the landscapes and the vast flower fields along the railway line that runs through the East Rift Valley National Scenic Area.

Hualien Railway Station director Chen Yu-mou (陳裕謀) said the special train is a cheap way to tour the scenic East Rift Valley, as the price of a ticket for a round-trip tour between Hualien and Guanshan is only NT$332 for adults, NT$166 for children and NT$184 for people aged over 65.

The passengers yesterday had a three-hour stopover at Guanshan, where they had the opportunity for a bike tour or a visit to a local water park before boarding the same train for the return trip.

The TRA has also prepared cruise trains for the Taipei-Suao Line along the northeast coast and the Kaohsiung-Taitung South Link Line. The Suao cruise will depart on Aug. 19 and Aug. 30 from Taipei, while the South Link Line train will run from Kaohsiung on Aug. 23 and on Sept. 6.
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