The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) said it will soon issue train tickets in English at stations nationwide.
The TRA is testing the new ticketing system at Taipei Railway Station and is scheduled to complete the trial by the end of the month, TRA deputy director general Chang Ying-huei (
Chang said that the bilingual tickets will first be sold at the Taipei Railway Station, before gradually changing the ticketing systems in other stations to accommodate the new tickets, he said.
Chang said that the tickets will provide information on the names of the stations, type of train, car and number, and seat number in English.
Besides renewing its ticketing system, the TRA has begun to provide English information on train types on the timetables at Taipei Railway Station.
It has also worked on standardizing the English translation of different train types and has ordered every station to improve their English-language instruction signs.
Chang said the TRA was striving to create a friendly environment for overseas tourists.
The on-board broadcasting system now makes announcements in four languages -- Mandarin, Hoklo, Hakka and English.
And to serve the increasing number of Japanese passengers every year, the TRA has also begun to announce passenger information in Japanese at the Taipei Railway Station and train stations in other cities, he said.
Chang said that a one-day pass jointly issued by the TRA and the Tourism Bureau for travel on the Northeast Coast was a success, drawing many railway fans from Japan, with the TRA arranging for train staff to guide the passengers at Pingsi (
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