The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday announced that it would increase train services with family carriages next month given their popularity.
The family-oriented carriages have been in demand since they were launched last year, the agency’s mechanics division chief Lai Hsing-lung (賴興隆) said, adding that about 90 percent of family carriage seats are sold out.
The TRA plans to renovate another 20 carriages by summer next year and has completed five, Lai said.
There are two train services with family cars, the 418 train from Shulin to Taitung and the 443 train from Taitung to Shulin that operate every Sunday — both are Tze-Chiang Limited Express trains with one family carriage, Lai said.
Starting on March 3, two more train services with family carriages are to operate every Sunday, on the West Coast Line, southbound train 123 and northbound train 150, he said.
Family car tickets are the same price as standard car tickets, but have only 12 seats, allowing room for strollers and desks, as well as breastfeeding rooms and family bathrooms, Lai said.
The cars’ exterior and interior are decorated with paintings of the Tourism Bureau mascot OhBear and the TRA mascot bear.
Tickets for seats in family cars are sold the same way regular carriage tickets are sold: Every Friday at midnight, tickets for travel next Sunday are available for booking online and at train stations.
When booking family carriage tickets online, customers should select one-way tickets and enter the train number, then select the family car option, the TRA said.
If the booking is successful, the buyer will receive a code to collect their ticket at the station.
The maximum number of family car tickets a single person can purchase is six, the TRA said.
The TRA is also to offer 12 bicycle carriages by summer next year. The cars will have bicycle racks to allow cyclists to travel with their bikes.
To ensure sufficient room, each bicycle car will have only 12 seats, the TRA said.
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