The discontinued Guanghua Express (光華號) is to run between Taiwan Railways Administration stations on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the express service’s launch, the state-run railway agency said.
Chen Yu-mou (陳裕謀), commercial section chief of the agency’s Transportation Department, said that DR2700 series diesel-powered trains first began operations on Oct. 31, 1966.
Prior to the launch of the national freeways and electrified railway service, the Guanghua Express was the nation’s fastest ground transportation service, he said, adding that a one-way trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung took only 4 hours, 45 minutes.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Railways Administration
The agency officially stopped daily Guanghua Express services after the last train departed from Yuli Railway Station in Hualien on July 15, 2014, Chen said.
After the trains were discharged from daily operation, Chen said the agency repaired eight of the remaining 15 Guanghua Express train cabins and preserved them as cultural assets.
The commemorative event is to begin on Oct. 28, when a train is to depart from Taitung depot and run to Cidu (七堵) in Keelung, Chen said, adding that the train would not carry passengers, but is to stop at Taitung, Yuli, Hualien, Yilan and Cidu railway stations for the public to take pictures.
People can buy tickets to ride the service on Oct. 29, which is to depart from Taipei at 8:42am.
The agency said it would offer six one-way trips: Taipei to Taichung, Taipei to Kaohsiung and Taipei to Taitung; Taichung to Kaohsiung and Taichung to Taitung; and Kaohsiung to Taitung, with the Taitung section running on the South Link Railway.
The agency said tickets from Taipei to Taichung or from Taichung to Kaohsiung would be NT$1,000 per person, while tickets from Kaohsiung to Taitung would be NT$700 per person.
Tickets from Taipei to Kaohsiung are to cost NT$2,000 per person, while trips from Taipei or Taichung to Taitung are to be NT$2,700 and NT$1,700 respectively, the agency added.
Booking for tickets on the Guanghua Express begins at 9am today on the agency’s Web site: http://163.29.3.98/twrail_bicycle/Cruise_Eng/cruise/index.aspx.
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