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Train ticket stamps will replace old style punchers

The Taiwan Railway Administra-tion (TRA) said yesterday that it had decided to end the use of ticket clippers that have been used to check passenger tickets for more than 100 years, and replace them with ticket stamps imported from Japan.

Normally, passengers will be asked to present their tickets whenever they enter platform gates or during ticket checks onboard. TRA personnel use the clippers to punch a hole in the tickets.

According to the administration, the stamps are used on Japan's Shinkansen system. The administration said it hoped the stamps would make it easier to keep train carriages cleaner. Also, the stamps wouldn't damage the magnetic strips that appear on some tickets, they said.

The administration said that it had purchased 100 of the stamps, each costing NT$3,500 (US$108). They will start using the stamps next month.

Over the years, the nation's oldest railway company has gradually changed its ticketing system. It began to use tickets with magnetic strips in recent years for some commuter and express trains.

To allow passengers to quickly pass through the entry gates, the administration also installed automatic ticket-checking machines for tickets with magnetic strips at nearly all train stations nationwide.

Meanwhile, starting on Saturday, the administration will begin taking orders online for eastbound trains operating between the 1st and 12th of next month, including the Lunar New Year holidays.

Ticket orders for southbound trains will commence on Sunday, the administration said.
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