Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) is to increase high-speed rail services from Sept. 1 to ease crowding during peak hours, it said yesterday.
Rail services were reduced after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on May 19 imposed a nationwide level-3 COVID-19 alert, which caused ridership to plummet.
The COVID-19 alert was lowered to level 2 on July 27.
Canceled services were partially resumed before Aug. 8 to accommodate people returning to their hometowns for Father’s Day.
Next month, 180 trains — 90 southbound and 90 northbound — would be added to the timetable, with the weekly total reaching 809, THSRC said.
From tomorrow, people can book tickets for next month, the company said.
To better serve people traveling during peak hours, at least four southbound trains and four northbound trains would be dispatched per hour during peak ridership, it added.
To comply with the CECC’s disease prevention restrictions, people must reserve seats in advance, THSRC said, adding that each train would be at most 70 percent full.
Passengers can request assistance from train conductors if they think the cars are too crowded, it said.
In other news, people heading home to Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties for the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend can book tickets from 9am tomorrow, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said yesterday.
A total of 40,974 seats would be available, it added.
The holiday runs from Sept. 18 to Sept. 21, but airlines would transport passengers from Sept. 17 to Sept. 22, to accommodate people taking off early from work or returning late, the agency said.
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