Taiwan High Speed Rail - clean, comfortable and fast

If you are traveling between main cities such as Taipei, Kaoshiung, Taichung etc., the Taiwan High Speed Rail is fast, clean, comfortable, and efficient.


The Taichung station


Arriving train


There are cars for reserved (assigned) sitting and the last few cars (I think from car 9-12) are free sitting. Free sitting tickets are usually 20% cheaper.



An information map and guide of the train


Quite comfortable if you ride long distance, since it is not as bumpy as a 2-hr taxi ride from Taichung to Taipei.

So if you are working on a laptop, the high speed rail is definitely a much better option.

For major cities such as Taipei and Kaoshiung, the high speed rail stations are located near the metro system. However, not many cities have rapid transit (equivalent to Singapore MRT and Hong Kong MTR)

Train facts:
1. Taiwan HSR is modeled after Japan's Shinkansen
2. Top operation speed 300km/h