The last Fu-hsing semi-express train, once the workhorse of the nation’s passenger railways, is to be retired from service tomorrow, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said on Saturday.
The train’s final trip — from Hualien to New Taipei City’s Shulin Station (樹林), a journey of 3 hours, 22 minutes — is to depart at 6:05am.
The Fu-hsing carriage, introduced in the early 1980s, was the first locally built train and the first in the nation to have air-conditioning.
Photo: CNA
Once seen throughout Taiwan, the Fu-hsing carriage has been gradually superseded by more modern carriages or high-speed trains. Only running on four TRA routes, it is being replaced by the new EMU900 carriage, the EMU500 or the Tze-chiang limited express.
One of the last routes to be modernized was the Fu-hsing 691, or the “Mystery Train,” Hualien Station manager Wu Ching-tien (吳金添) said, adding that the weekly service between Hualien and Shulin Station — a journey of 2 hours, 56 minutes — departed on its last run yesterday at 2:02pm.
With the introduction of the Tze-chiang train on that route, the fare is to be increased from NT$283 to NT$440, he added.
The worn Fu-hsing carriages are to be demolished, while those deemed salvageable are to be used on the South Link Line, the TRA said.
In honor of the carriage’s decades of service, the TRA is selling 300 commemorative tickets on tomorrow’s final run from Hualien Station to Sincheng Station (新城) for NT$150, which includes an assigned seat and official TRA validation.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.