Taiwan High Speed Rail

De train!  De train!

by Pa Rock
Cultural Explorer

Passengers boarding the HSR at Taipei Station

One of the things that our new friend Andrew Liu (whom we met at Taiwan National University) suggested that Valerie and I do was to take a ride on Taiwan's privately constructed High Speed Rail (HSR).  He said that the Taiwanese version of a "bullet train" would also be a good way to get to the airport when our brief vacation was over in a couple of days.  We decided to take a trial run from Taipei to Taoyuan - a city close to the airport where free bus shuttles would ferry us and our luggage on to the airport terminal when we were ready to leave.  The trip took about twenty minutes, much of it through tunnels, but we did get to see flashes of countryside along the way.

More people boarding

The HSR gets up and moves - with a high end speed of 217 miles per hour!  It was a very comfortable ride, and we did take it a second time when we went to the airport for our departure to Okinawa a two days later.

Our car 

Valerie on board the HSR

Sign at Taoyuan Station.  Which way to the
Kiss and Ride?

Shuttle buses at Taoyuan Station - waiting to take
passengers to the airport