A Hello Kitty-themed train yesterday made its inaugural run on a round trip from Taipei to Taitung.
According to the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), which is cooperating with Japan’s Sanrio Co to launch the special Taroko Express train, the first Taiwanese passenger train to feature the theme of the popular cartoon cat Hello Kitty has eight carriages, and each carriage has a different design.
Not only the external appearance, but also the interior of the train, such as the seatbacks and the serving carts, are decorated with Hello Kitty patterns.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Railways Administration
Boxed meals wrapped with Hello Kitty drawstring bags are also sold on the train at NT$120 each.
In addition, the TRA designed commemorative tickets for the inaugural run. The tickets, with the words “Commemoration of the inaugural run of the Hello Kitty train” printed in red, are in the form of an old ticket which has been out of print for nearly 30 years, the TRA said.
The first train arrived at Taitung Station at 3:04pm, and stopped for 20 minutes to allow a limited number of 300 people to take pictures.
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