The “Future” (鳴日號) excursion train, operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), is to resume service today after a three-month suspension due to a nationwide COVID-19 alert.
On Monday, Lion Travel, which runs excursion train tours, said that from September to November, its tours would feature food, Aboriginal cultures and music.
A four-day tour to Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, which Lion Travel said would be launched on Sept. 18, is to feature a visit to the National Center for Traditional Arts in Yilan to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival, while offering traditional Taiwanese toys, Taiwanese operas and state banquet dishes prepared by chefs from the restaurant chain Tu Hsiao Yueh (度小月).
The stops in Hualien and Taitung would feature orange daylily fields, classes on how to make dried pineapple and pineapple jams, and dishes of red sticky rice, as well as explorations of Amis culture, the travel agency said.
Virus mitigation measures mean that only 50 percent of the train’s seats would be filled, with passengers required to register their contact information, the TRA said.
Passengers would have an empty seat between them, and eating and drinking would be banned, it said.
Passengers would have their temperatures taken, and be given a mask and disease prevention packet, it added.
All onboard service personnel, as well as connecting bus drivers, would be required to wear masks, face shields and gloves, as well as have at least had the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the travel agency said.
The number of passengers on buses would be capped at 20, while the government’s guidelines would be strictly observed in the seating and dining arrangements, it added.
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