The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) conducted a public test ride of its tilting trains along the North Link yesterday.
"Alright," yelled a TRA driver, as the train -- also known as Taroko Express -- pulled out of Taipei Main Station at 2pm.
The tilting train is equipped with a mechanism that allows it to counteract the centrifugal force generated when driving through curves. Rather than slowing down the train, drivers of tilting trains increase speed slightly when negotiating curves.
The train yesterday only took one hour and 55 minutes to get to Hualien. That compares with a travel time of nearly three hours for the usual express trains, known as Tzuchiang Express.
Although the ride was a little bumpy at the beginning, it went on smoothly afterward.
Passengers who were seated could hardly feel the train tilt, but it was palpable to those who were standing during the ride.
The TRA started using the newly imported trains to transport passengers during the Lunar New Year, but it had yet to test the trains' ability to tilt.
TRA Director-General Chen Feng-nan (
But for now, the trains will only operate the Taipei-Hualien route. Ticket prices are the same as those of Tzuchiang Express trains.
Chen added that TRA would not sell standing room tickets.
"Some may want to board the train anyway even if they are told no seats are available," Chen said. "We will tell them that they might experience slight discomfort during the trip and advise them to take the next train instead."
A total of six trains will operate on the Taipei-Hualien route during weekdays. Two additional trains will be added to the service during weekends. That would expand TRA's train service capacity by 200 seats a day, he said.
Aside from inviting members of the media to the test ride yesterday, the TRA also called on Sung Ya-yung (宋亞芸), the winner of last year's train naming contest.
"I have traveled to Taroko Gorge before and thought it was just such a beautiful place," Sung said, explaining where she got the inspiration for the train's name.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
RSS