Passengers on express trains to the east coast during next week’s extended Tomb Sweeping Day holiday are to get a 20 percent discount on their ticket price if they do not reserve a seat.
The holiday begins on Wednesday and ends on Sunday, the second-longest national holiday in the first half of this year.
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) earlier this month announced that it would sell standing-room only tickets for the Taroko Express and Puyuma Express trains to Hualien and Taitung counties in the holiday period.
The agency did not sell standing-room only tickets for the two express train services in the past, because the trains tilt cornering, which could cause motion sickness.
The TRA this year gave Lunar New Year holiday passengers on the express services a 20 percent discount for standing-room only tickets.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) yesterday said in a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee that passengers should be given a discount when purchasing standing-room only tickets.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said that passengers heading to the east coast would be given a discount if they buy tickets on the express train services, but did not specify the amount.
However, standing-room only tickets are not recommended for people who get motion sickness easily as tilt trains jolt more frequently than other types of trains.
TRA Director-General Jason Lu (鹿潔身) said that the administration lost about NT$5 million (US$171,438) in revenue on express services when it gave a 20 percent discount to east coast passengers over the Lunar New Year holiday.
Lu said that there would be 220 trains operating between Taipei, Hualien and Taitung next week, adding that each train would have 120 standing-room only tickets available.
The tickets can only be purchased at train station ticketing windows and cannot be purchased in the presale period, Lu added.
People First Party Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that safety should be the administrations No. 1 priority, even though the Ministry of Transportation and Communications intentions are good.
“Unlike the high-speed rail or regular express trains, tilt train passengers have a bumpier ride. What if elderly passengers buy standing-room only tickets, slip on the floor and are injured?” Lee said, adding that the ministry should address safety concerns before selling tickets.
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