Two new tourism express trains — Shanlan (山嵐號) and Haifeng (海風號) — are scheduled to start operating in November after completing trial runs this month, Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) said.
The two tourism train services were created by revamping EMU500 series passenger trains. The train tours would be arranged by Lion Travel (雄獅旅行社).
TRC chairman Tu Wei (杜微) inspected the interior design of the Shanlan Express in a recent trip to the Hsinchu Railway Station and was briefed by Lion Travel officials on how it would arrange train tours.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Railway Corp
The state-run railway company said it is promoting railway tourism in Hsinchu County, which is home to Liujia (六家) and Neiwan (內灣) branch lines. They are close to hub stations for commuters, including North Hsinchu Station, Sansingciao (三姓橋), Siangshan (香山), Chianjia (千甲) and Sinjhuang (新莊) railway stations, it said.
There are several famous tourist destinations near these stations, such as Hsinchu Chenghuang Temple (新竹城隍廟), Hsinchu Park (新竹公園), Hsinchu City Glass Museum (玻璃工藝博物館) and Hsinchu Zoo (新竹動物園), it said.
The railway company originally offered only cruise train services, Formosa Express (環島之星) and summer Formosa Express trains. It has gradually expanded its tourism train fleet by including Future (鳴日號) in 2020 and Breezy Blue (藍皮解憂號) in 2021.
To attract gourmet and cycling enthusiasts, Lion Travel also added a five-star dining carriage and one which cyclists can travel with their bicycles in 2022.
In other news, the Tourism Administration on Thursday said the government would expand an incentive scheme to encourage independent foreign travelers to visit Taiwan more than once.
The agency last year introduced an incentive scheme that offers foreign passport holders visiting Taiwan for three to 90 days who are not members of tour groups a chance to win a NT$5,000 travel stipend through a lucky draw on arrival. The program runs until June 30 next year.
To attract independent foreign visitors repeatedly, the agency decided to allow people who have visited Taiwan and are planning to visit again sometime from tomorrow to the end of the year to take part in a second lucky draw.
Additional reporting by CNA
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