hi mate. nice video, your points were articulated quite well. However, I noticed some inaccuracies and missed bits of info which I will point out, that may hopefully help others in clarifying some points: 00:40 The map depicts the THSR line only reaching Taipei. In fact, it was extended in ~2008 to Nangang, which also offers transfers to TRA services. 00:41 The THSR and TRA do not meet at Kaohsiung Station. Instead, the THSR terminates at Xinzuoying (which has its own TRA station) and you can take the Red Kaohsiung MRT line to the city center at Formosa Boulevard. The Red Line also connects to Kaohsiung TRA Station. 01:04 Local trains operate on a point-to-point/city-to-city basis and are aimed at connecting smaller towns to larger hubs where express trains stop, meaning that they normally do not do long haul journeys like the Express variants. There are exceptions for this on the west coast, for example, the morning peak hour train that starts at Keelung and terminates at Chiayi. 01:05 Fast Local trains stop at more limited stops when compared to normal locals and are a step below Chu-Kuang trains. A local train can always be identified by its train number, which will be four digits instead of three. 01:21 Not all seats are reserved on the Chu-Kuang and Tze-Chiang trains. You are able to use your EasyCard for travel, however, as you mentioned, you must vacate your seat for those who have a ticket. 01:22 Chu-Kuang trains have a lower service frequency than Tze-Chiang or Local/Fast Local. Therefore it is probably better just to choose between the two. 01:50 EasyCard offers a huge discount on fares with trips less than 70km. After 70km, you will be charged the FULL TZE-CHIANG FARE to wherever you tap off. 02:29 As of December 2022, the new EMU3000 series has entered service (referred to as 'Xin-Tze-Chiang' or 'New Ltd. Express'), and are classified (speed-wise) at the same level as Puyuma and Taroko Express trains. The 3000 series mainly serves the east coast and aims to be the successor to the Taroko family. You cannot use EasyCards on this train, but announcements at the station should warn you this well before you even get on it. 04:07 The N700T rollingstock is based directly off of exported Japanese N700 series technology, and shares some striking similarities to its origin. 04:11 Not only French tracks, but European Standard tunnels. 04:15 An extension to Yilan has been greenlighted and construction has begun. 04:21 There are multiple different levels of HSR services. The 'Zhi-Da' train stops only at inner Taipei and New Taipei stations, then stops only at Taichung and Xinzuoying. Stopping patterns vary, so checking the website is the best way to go. Or, take a look at the big Airport-Like departure boards at the stations that show which train stops at which station. 04:22 Nice, you went to Hsinchu :) 04:30 If you want even more expensive travel fares, Business Class on the HSR exists! 04:44 Again, that depends on where you are going. THSR offers frequent free shuttle buses to their respective cities at all stations. 04:55 Dysfunctional is not really the word here. While some streets are less than ideal and it can feel a bit messy sometimes, the government is working on reorganizing most of the cities. 05:39 There are about a gazillion private Bus Operators in Taiwan. These range from (currently) the most popular Kuo-Kuang intercity buses to smaller metropolitan companies like Zhi-Nan. 05:42 The Wi-Fi in buses is extremely good. 06:20 It is actually faster and cheaper to get to the Airport via High Speed Rail from Taipei. First, board HSR at any of the stations within Taipei/New Taipei, and alight at Taoyuan HSR Station (~9 minutes). Transfer to the Taoyuan Airport MRT, going inbound, and alight at Taoyuan International Airport (~12-15 minutes depending on your terminal). 07:25 THSR runs many Zhi-Da trains near midday and peak hours. Watch out for these, as they can shorten your commute to Taichung to only 44 minutes for the same price! 07:31 The Taichung MRT, which runs every 7 minutes all day every day (more at peak hours), connects from the HSR station to the 300 bus at City Hall station, which used to be a BRT line that ran directly into the heart of Taichung. Any variation of the 300 bus comes every 3-5 minutes. 08:08 Light Rail is incorrect, as they are an entirely different mode of transit. Taichung, Taipei, and Kaohsiung have their own respective Metro systems. Taoyuan Metro is more for districts past the scope of Taipei and New Taipei. In terms of actual light rail, the Ankeng LRT is now available from ShiSiZhang station on the Yellow Line. The Danhai LRT is available from Hongshulin station on the Red Line and connects the Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf as well as the Kanding district. 08:53 Yes, we do have a reputation for driving our buses like those small scooters. Remember to hold on tight! 09:16 In Taipei you don't find a taxi, the taxi finds you. 10:52 U-Bikes are free for the first half hour. thanks for reading!
Hi Echensky, Thank you VERY much for all this detailed information! I actually just discovered the new EMU5000 trains a few days ago and had to get straight off as I was using my Easycard. They do look as luxurious as the Puyuma and Taroko so I'm not surprised that the same rules apply and that they are the next generation of this class. I had no idea about being charged the Tze-Chiang rate after 70km. It seems like a strange policy to me, but obviously travellers need to know that as it makes it better to reserve a seat for the same price. You must be very well traveled in Taiwan? I trust people will read your comment for all this information for now, but I'll update this video with everything you've shared asap. (This was itself an update from one from two years ago, which was one of my first videos.)
@@jesseduffield747 hey jesse, no problem, my pleasure! The 3000 series (not 5000 aha) is still being gradually rolled out to the network to this day so the full fleet isn't onboarded just yet. Yes, the 70km rule is rather arbitrary in my opinion, but it's enough to get you to Yilan or Hsinchu so I'm pretty happy with how they organized it. One of the ways you can 'cheat' the system is to get off, go out, and then swipe in again. However, this can only be done at select stations and specific platforms to ensure that you have enough time to run around the concourse to board the train again. Alternatively you could just catch the next one. I myself have only made the same station dash a handful of times under optimal scenarios. Most of the signage for the 70km rule is in Mandarin, so I don't blame you for not noticing haha. Another quirky aspect of the TRA system is that the classification of trains changes based on where you are. Since Taiwan's transit corridors are pretty much just North South, all trains are classified according to their direction relative to your station. This means that trains that pass Taipei (which are quite common actually) or Kaohsiung switch classifications from being a Northbound train to a Southbound train and vice versa. One of the extreme (and most fun) examples of this is EMU3000 train number 434 originating from Shulin and terminating at Xinzuoying via the east coast (an incredibly scenic journey that takes more than 7 hours!). This train starts as a Northbound train until it reaches Taipei, and is then classified as a Southbound train until it reaches Kaohsiung, which makes it revert back to a Northbound service! Another funny easter egg (depending on how you look at it I guess) I found during my travels: An official poster depicting the TRA's various rollingstock on Platform 1 at Luodong station (first major station after Yilan southbound) depicts the Puyuma and Taroko express as the TMEU1000 and TMEU2000, when in actuality their model names (which can be seen on the sides of the trains!) are the Tilting Electric Multiple Unit 1000/2000 or TEMU. As for your question, I am indeed native Taiwanese and an avid public transport fanatic, regularly commuting between Taichung, Hsinchu, and Kaohsiung at certain times of the year. Last December I had (on record, at least) a total of 38 HSR journeys and 46 TRA journeys, which is slightly excessive even by my standards lol.
Hi Echensky, Wow that's a lot of train journeys! If it's not a stupid question, is that for the year, or your whole life in Taiwan? And thanks for the reply and all the details! My bad on the 3000/5000 :) I'm not sure about in Chinese, but in English on Google Maps they just call them "Tze-Chiangs" and as far as I know there's no way to tell (without going to the TRA site) whether it's the 3000, so hopefully Google fixes that, especially for when the 3,000s are the last trains of the day. I was actually at Luodong recently, but bussed there (I prefer trains, but was short of time) but will keep an eye out for the poster next time I train there. You will have noticed that I mentioned the tilting part in the video, but I wouldn't have noticed it spelled wrongly. Yeah, I was confused by the north bound / south bound at first, especially when going from Taipei to the East Coast. I wonder whether 'clockwise' and 'anti-clockwise' might be clearer for foreigners, but I'm not going to complain as it's an incredible train system, especially relative to the price. I'm still a bit confused about the Easycard discount though. I tested it by going from Taichung to Kaohsiung and it charged me $271. The full Tze-Chiang fare is 469, and I can't find the price for local trains because obviously there aren't any single trains, but I would expect it to be about that. Does it take into consideration the time between clocking in and out? I took mostly local trains for that journey, so I wonder if that was why? And, from your first comment, very true about Taiwanese cities not being dysfunctional, as people get to where they need to (generally quickly) despite the high population density. I think in the next one I'll remove that and just say that modern new cities are being built around the HSR stations, especially since, as you said, the government is working on re-organising the older cities. I blurred out identifiable buildings from my original video because I wasn't comfortable with saying someone's hometown was dysfunctional, but thinking about more it seems better to just not say it at all as it doesn't add anything useful to the video. I had just assumed that the MRT was faster (and cheaper) than the HSR (+ transfer) for getting to the airport, so thanks for the correction. It makes sense about the MRT being more for districts past Taipei and New Taipei. I think it will help Jhongli a lot when it eventually reaches the central city. And thanks for the correction about the term LRT, which I was using incorrectly. I should include the Danhai LRT, especially since tourists go to Tamsui, and hadn't even heard of the Ankeng one. I thought Youbikes were only free for the first half hour in New Taipei, and wasn't sure if it was permanent, so it seemed best to not mention it, but if they still are, I guess it's here to stay, so I'll add it to the updated one. Speaking of which, would you like me to acknowledge your help in the next one? Either way, I appreciate all your updates and other info!
@Jesse Duffield hey, sorry mate! i thought i had replied a few weeks earlier but it turns out TH-cam decided to deletus my comment. no of course it's not a stupid question. that was just for the month of December of 2022! Yes, as you mentioned, I have noticed that Google doesn't seem to have support for select Puyuma, Taroko, or EMU3000 series on their in-app timetables, which I find quite odd. however, one of my go-to apps for train information is TransTaiwan. It contains a train radar for every single service operating in Taiwan including TRA, HSR, MRT, and the like, and updates in real time, giving you the model of train, run number, punctuality, speed, among other cool titbits. For buses, the Bus+ app works really well and does basically the same thing (though I'm not really sure about the English availability, though I've heard from friends that it's functional enough). I think that also answers your question on how to tell if it's a 3000 (little model number, or you could differentiate from the icon on the TransTaiwan train tracker) haha. that's actually a splendid idea! a clockwise/counterclockwise system would be extremely helpful, not only for foreigners but for locals alike. Their current system of using North/Southbound classifications and using line names (for example, Northbound Train 434 bound for Xinzuoying via the North Link Line) is adequate for people like me who are unironically obsessed with the public transit but words like North Link Line mean nothing for the majority of the population (not to mention tourists). With the additional complexity and rather unique state of the country's public transport basically being a large vertical oval, there aren't really any traditional 'lines' as most international residents are used to, and so I do think that counterclockwise and clockwise could be the holy grail to all our communication problems haha. Out of the tens of hundreds of trips I've taken only a handful of trains have been delayed. The HSR actually reports its punctuality without disregarding Force Majeure which (in my opinion) is how every train company should disclose their performance. while the TRA's punctuality (by Taiwanese standards) has been pretty bad in the past 20 years, a lot of bitching from citizens and netizens alike has somehow convinced the government to radically improve infrastructure and performance, now with the EMU900 series rolling out throughout the network, my local train commutes have become infinitely more comfortable. I haven't been on a late TRA train in at least 4 months at this point. One of the other things I've noticed around the transport here compared to other countries is that the cleanliness is kept to an absolute maximum, as is in Korea and Japan. You aren't even allowed to drink water anywhere inside the metro system, and yet, you can still see five or six cleaners per station just sweeping and mopping away daily. I had a chat with one of them while waiting for a metro, most of them are really nice! As a resident from childhood I thought it was a given, until my first trip internationally where I had a rather rude awakening after sitting on some chips lying on a seat in Brisbane. Toilets aboard national rail trains/HSR trains are also spacious and clean, you don't have to worry about weird liquids sliding about on the floor when the train is accelerating or decelerating ._. Another thing I might have forgotten to mention is that I recently found that the heavy metro lines (Bannan, Tamsui-Xinyi, Songshan-Xindian, Zhonghe-Xinlu) and the Wenhu line are all capable of running at frequencies of trains every ~26 seconds, even though most timetabled times are capped at ~1 min 30 sec. My guess is that they dynamically add new services to fit peak hour demand. You can see this for yourself if you go to Fuzhong station at around 8:37 or 8:47am. Before the initial train has even left the station the red lights start blinking again and sometimes the music overlaps which is hilarious. I'm not sure whether it was because you took local trains. I haven't actively tested the 70km range myself much, but it may have been for the reason you stated. the ticket checks are relentless on TRA trains, one time the ticket I bought went one station before the one I intended to go to, so I decided to just stay on the train and make up the fair at my destination. Right after we left, the train master made a beeline to my seat and asked me to make up the fare right then and there. I still have no idea how they did it. so keeping this in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if they knew you were on local trains and calculated the fare accordingly, though don't quote me on that lmao. for foreigners, I think, the Taoyuan MRT is simple, easy, and efficient. it gets you where you want to go and you don't need to transfer. the HSR route is really more for people like me who research way too much into trains, though if you do end up taking it that way, do let me know! The Taoyuan Metro's eventual connection to Zhongli is still going to be questionable at best, and will most likely be targeted at those living around Taoyuan and Zhongli looking to commute towards the Airport. Why? Well, Taoyuan Metro already has a connection to the HSR line, which is the gateway for most of the southern residents. The HSR also reaches the North, and so does the original Taoyuan Metro line. Therefore, the only sensible target demographic for the extension would be those who are able to transfer to the Taoyuan MRT through TRA, which is short to medium haul commuters. Keep in mind that most people also have luggage and the like. This essentially splits the Taoyuan MRT into two individual sections, on either side of the Airport. One, you have the commuters from Taipei, and the other, the commuters from Zhongli. The icing on the cake is that the express version of the Taoyuan MRT doesn't even go past the Airport (as I have probably mentioned before I do strongly believe that it should be at least extended to the HSR station), which limits frequency for the other half of the line. Nevertheless, with all of that said, they are still going to be using the space well (integrating the Taoyuan Metro into the Zhongli train station, as well as building a eco-department store [whatever that means] above it, and renovating neighboring districts), so I look forward to its opening somewhere in 2026 I believe. The Ankeng LRT just recently opened in February of this year, and sadly, I haven't been able to go on it yet. It connects from ShiSiZhang, though, would've been better to run parallel with the Yellow Line to reach QiZhang in my opinion, to eliminate the headway between the one station transfer from ShiSiZhang to QiZhang. The Danhai LRT is really nice. Though it connects from Hongshulin (a really weird place in my opinion, but then again, Tamsui has no more space for expansion) it travels via viaducts to the city center with ample connection to buses and UBike. It's planning to be extended across the river to Bali (please do, the only connection to the other side of the river means riding all the way back to Guandu Bridge then going back up) sometime in the future, and will be the second bridge ever within the general Tamsui area. Talking about UBikes, yes, I recently did a UBike trip around Kaohsiung. Can confirm that it's not just New Taipei that has the 30 minute leeway. Again, I'm guessing it was put in place to encourage short commutes on more eco-friendly travel options, which I find very good! Taichung and Kaohsiung are both trialing electric assisted bikes as there is much more hilly terrain down south when compared to Taipei and New Taipei. I'm surprised you didn't touch on Taichung's now non-existent BRT system. While the remnants of the system can still be seen along the main arterial roads, and the BRT 3XX buses still serve them at approximately the same frequency as before, it was sadly abandoned in favor of the metro project. Even though the metro has been riddled with delays and issues (screw politics) it's opened now and connects rather well to the existing bus network. Any bus starting with 3 (at least to my knowledge) runs across Central Taichung and connects with national rail, and comes every 5-8 minutes or so. Kaohsiung is also working on expanding their network to better accommodate the existing national rail infrastructure that runs through the center of the city. A new 'yellow line' is planned to further the reach of the metro. Something I rather like about Kaohsiung's metro (unlike Taichung's) is that it was built with foresight and expandability in mind. While its trains currently run in 3 car sets, the platforms (and their screen doors) are constructed so that 6 car sets can be easily used without any configuration at all. A small but very important thing that I don't see much in new transit systems around the world as much anymore. and sure! I'm all for being able to help out. it's not often that I get to rant on and on about the stuff I've picked up over the years haha.
This is excellent for any traveler to Taiwan
hi mate. nice video, your points were articulated quite well. However, I noticed some inaccuracies and missed bits of info which I will point out, that may hopefully help others in clarifying some points:
00:40 The map depicts the THSR line only reaching Taipei. In fact, it was extended in ~2008 to Nangang, which also offers transfers to TRA services.
00:41 The THSR and TRA do not meet at Kaohsiung Station. Instead, the THSR terminates at Xinzuoying (which has its own TRA station) and you can take the Red Kaohsiung MRT line to the city center at Formosa Boulevard. The Red Line also connects to Kaohsiung TRA Station.
01:04 Local trains operate on a point-to-point/city-to-city basis and are aimed at connecting smaller towns to larger hubs where express trains stop, meaning that they normally do not do long haul journeys like the Express variants. There are exceptions for this on the west coast, for example, the morning peak hour train that starts at Keelung and terminates at Chiayi.
01:05 Fast Local trains stop at more limited stops when compared to normal locals and are a step below Chu-Kuang trains. A local train can always be identified by its train number, which will be four digits instead of three.
01:21 Not all seats are reserved on the Chu-Kuang and Tze-Chiang trains. You are able to use your EasyCard for travel, however, as you mentioned, you must vacate your seat for those who have a ticket.
01:22 Chu-Kuang trains have a lower service frequency than Tze-Chiang or Local/Fast Local. Therefore it is probably better just to choose between the two.
01:50 EasyCard offers a huge discount on fares with trips less than 70km. After 70km, you will be charged the FULL TZE-CHIANG FARE to wherever you tap off.
02:29 As of December 2022, the new EMU3000 series has entered service (referred to as 'Xin-Tze-Chiang' or 'New Ltd. Express'), and are classified (speed-wise) at the same level as Puyuma and Taroko Express trains. The 3000 series mainly serves the east coast and aims to be the successor to the Taroko family. You cannot use EasyCards on this train, but announcements at the station should warn you this well before you even get on it.
04:07 The N700T rollingstock is based directly off of exported Japanese N700 series technology, and shares some striking similarities to its origin.
04:11 Not only French tracks, but European Standard tunnels.
04:15 An extension to Yilan has been greenlighted and construction has begun.
04:21 There are multiple different levels of HSR services. The 'Zhi-Da' train stops only at inner Taipei and New Taipei stations, then stops only at Taichung and Xinzuoying. Stopping patterns vary, so checking the website is the best way to go. Or, take a look at the big Airport-Like departure boards at the stations that show which train stops at which station.
04:22 Nice, you went to Hsinchu :)
04:30 If you want even more expensive travel fares, Business Class on the HSR exists!
04:44 Again, that depends on where you are going. THSR offers frequent free shuttle buses to their respective cities at all stations.
04:55 Dysfunctional is not really the word here. While some streets are less than ideal and it can feel a bit messy sometimes, the government is working on reorganizing most of the cities.
05:39 There are about a gazillion private Bus Operators in Taiwan. These range from (currently) the most popular Kuo-Kuang intercity buses to smaller metropolitan companies like Zhi-Nan.
05:42 The Wi-Fi in buses is extremely good.
06:20 It is actually faster and cheaper to get to the Airport via High Speed Rail from Taipei. First, board HSR at any of the stations within Taipei/New Taipei, and alight at Taoyuan HSR Station (~9 minutes). Transfer to the Taoyuan Airport MRT, going inbound, and alight at Taoyuan International Airport (~12-15 minutes depending on your terminal).
07:25 THSR runs many Zhi-Da trains near midday and peak hours. Watch out for these, as they can shorten your commute to Taichung to only 44 minutes for the same price!
07:31 The Taichung MRT, which runs every 7 minutes all day every day (more at peak hours), connects from the HSR station to the 300 bus at City Hall station, which used to be a BRT line that ran directly into the heart of Taichung. Any variation of the 300 bus comes every 3-5 minutes.
08:08 Light Rail is incorrect, as they are an entirely different mode of transit. Taichung, Taipei, and Kaohsiung have their own respective Metro systems. Taoyuan Metro is more for districts past the scope of Taipei and New Taipei. In terms of actual light rail, the Ankeng LRT is now available from ShiSiZhang station on the Yellow Line. The Danhai LRT is available from Hongshulin station on the Red Line and connects the Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf as well as the Kanding district.
08:53 Yes, we do have a reputation for driving our buses like those small scooters. Remember to hold on tight!
09:16 In Taipei you don't find a taxi, the taxi finds you.
10:52 U-Bikes are free for the first half hour.
thanks for reading!
Hi Echensky,
Thank you VERY much for all this detailed information! I actually just discovered the new EMU5000 trains a few days ago and had to get straight off as I was using my Easycard. They do look as luxurious as the Puyuma and Taroko so I'm not surprised that the same rules apply and that they are the next generation of this class.
I had no idea about being charged the Tze-Chiang rate after 70km. It seems like a strange policy to me, but obviously travellers need to know that as it makes it better to reserve a seat for the same price.
You must be very well traveled in Taiwan?
I trust people will read your comment for all this information for now, but I'll update this video with everything you've shared asap. (This was itself an update from one from two years ago, which was one of my first videos.)
@@jesseduffield747 hey jesse,
no problem, my pleasure! The 3000 series (not 5000 aha) is still being gradually rolled out to the network to this day so the full fleet isn't onboarded just yet.
Yes, the 70km rule is rather arbitrary in my opinion, but it's enough to get you to Yilan or Hsinchu so I'm pretty happy with how they organized it. One of the ways you can 'cheat' the system is to get off, go out, and then swipe in again. However, this can only be done at select stations and specific platforms to ensure that you have enough time to run around the concourse to board the train again. Alternatively you could just catch the next one. I myself have only made the same station dash a handful of times under optimal scenarios. Most of the signage for the 70km rule is in Mandarin, so I don't blame you for not noticing haha.
Another quirky aspect of the TRA system is that the classification of trains changes based on where you are. Since Taiwan's transit corridors are pretty much just North South, all trains are classified according to their direction relative to your station. This means that trains that pass Taipei (which are quite common actually) or Kaohsiung switch classifications from being a Northbound train to a Southbound train and vice versa. One of the extreme (and most fun) examples of this is EMU3000 train number 434 originating from Shulin and terminating at Xinzuoying via the east coast (an incredibly scenic journey that takes more than 7 hours!).
This train starts as a Northbound train until it reaches Taipei, and is then classified as a Southbound train until it reaches Kaohsiung, which makes it revert back to a Northbound service!
Another funny easter egg (depending on how you look at it I guess) I found during my travels: An official poster depicting the TRA's various rollingstock on Platform 1 at Luodong station (first major station after Yilan southbound) depicts the Puyuma and Taroko express as the TMEU1000 and TMEU2000, when in actuality their model names (which can be seen on the sides of the trains!) are the Tilting Electric Multiple Unit 1000/2000 or TEMU.
As for your question, I am indeed native Taiwanese and an avid public transport fanatic, regularly commuting between Taichung, Hsinchu, and Kaohsiung at certain times of the year. Last December I had (on record, at least) a total of 38 HSR journeys and 46 TRA journeys, which is slightly excessive even by my standards lol.
Hi Echensky,
Wow that's a lot of train journeys! If it's not a stupid question, is that for the year, or your whole life in Taiwan?
And thanks for the reply and all the details! My bad on the 3000/5000 :) I'm not sure about in Chinese, but in English on Google Maps they just call them "Tze-Chiangs" and as far as I know there's no way to tell (without going to the TRA site) whether it's the 3000, so hopefully Google fixes that, especially for when the 3,000s are the last trains of the day.
I was actually at Luodong recently, but bussed there (I prefer trains, but was short of time) but will keep an eye out for the poster next time I train there. You will have noticed that I mentioned the tilting part in the video, but I wouldn't have noticed it spelled wrongly.
Yeah, I was confused by the north bound / south bound at first, especially when going from Taipei to the East Coast. I wonder whether 'clockwise' and 'anti-clockwise' might be clearer for foreigners, but I'm not going to complain as it's an incredible train system, especially relative to the price.
I'm still a bit confused about the Easycard discount though. I tested it by going from Taichung to Kaohsiung and it charged me $271. The full Tze-Chiang fare is 469, and I can't find the price for local trains because obviously there aren't any single trains, but I would expect it to be about that. Does it take into consideration the time between clocking in and out? I took mostly local trains for that journey, so I wonder if that was why?
And, from your first comment, very true about Taiwanese cities not being dysfunctional, as people get to where they need to (generally quickly) despite the high population density. I think in the next one I'll remove that and just say that modern new cities are being built around the HSR stations, especially since, as you said, the government is working on re-organising the older cities. I blurred out identifiable buildings from my original video because I wasn't comfortable with saying someone's hometown was dysfunctional, but thinking about more it seems better to just not say it at all as it doesn't add anything useful to the video.
I had just assumed that the MRT was faster (and cheaper) than the HSR (+ transfer) for getting to the airport, so thanks for the correction. It makes sense about the MRT being more for districts past Taipei and New Taipei. I think it will help Jhongli a lot when it eventually reaches the central city.
And thanks for the correction about the term LRT, which I was using incorrectly. I should include the Danhai LRT, especially since tourists go to Tamsui, and hadn't even heard of the Ankeng one.
I thought Youbikes were only free for the first half hour in New Taipei, and wasn't sure if it was permanent, so it seemed best to not mention it, but if they still are, I guess it's here to stay, so I'll add it to the updated one.
Speaking of which, would you like me to acknowledge your help in the next one? Either way, I appreciate all your updates and other info!
@Jesse Duffield hey, sorry mate! i thought i had replied a few weeks earlier but it turns out TH-cam decided to deletus my comment.
no of course it's not a stupid question. that was just for the month of December of 2022! Yes, as you mentioned, I have noticed that Google doesn't seem to have support for select Puyuma, Taroko, or EMU3000 series on their in-app timetables, which I find quite odd. however, one of my go-to apps for train information is TransTaiwan. It contains a train radar for every single service operating in Taiwan including TRA, HSR, MRT, and the like, and updates in real time, giving you the model of train, run number, punctuality, speed, among other cool titbits. For buses, the Bus+ app works really well and does basically the same thing (though I'm not really sure about the English availability, though I've heard from friends that it's functional enough). I think that also answers your question on how to tell if it's a 3000 (little model number, or you could differentiate from the icon on the TransTaiwan train tracker) haha.
that's actually a splendid idea! a clockwise/counterclockwise system would be extremely helpful, not only for foreigners but for locals alike. Their current system of using North/Southbound classifications and using line names (for example, Northbound Train 434 bound for Xinzuoying via the North Link Line) is adequate for people like me who are unironically obsessed with the public transit but words like North Link Line mean nothing for the majority of the population (not to mention tourists). With the additional complexity and rather unique state of the country's public transport basically being a large vertical oval, there aren't really any traditional 'lines' as most international residents are used to, and so I do think that counterclockwise and clockwise could be the holy grail to all our communication problems haha.
Out of the tens of hundreds of trips I've taken only a handful of trains have been delayed. The HSR actually reports its punctuality without disregarding Force Majeure which (in my opinion) is how every train company should disclose their performance. while the TRA's punctuality (by Taiwanese standards) has been pretty bad in the past 20 years, a lot of bitching from citizens and netizens alike has somehow convinced the government to radically improve infrastructure and performance, now with the EMU900 series rolling out throughout the network, my local train commutes have become infinitely more comfortable. I haven't been on a late TRA train in at least 4 months at this point.
One of the other things I've noticed around the transport here compared to other countries is that the cleanliness is kept to an absolute maximum, as is in Korea and Japan. You aren't even allowed to drink water anywhere inside the metro system, and yet, you can still see five or six cleaners per station just sweeping and mopping away daily. I had a chat with one of them while waiting for a metro, most of them are really nice! As a resident from childhood I thought it was a given, until my first trip internationally where I had a rather rude awakening after sitting on some chips lying on a seat in Brisbane. Toilets aboard national rail trains/HSR trains are also spacious and clean, you don't have to worry about weird liquids sliding about on the floor when the train is accelerating or decelerating ._.
Another thing I might have forgotten to mention is that I recently found that the heavy metro lines (Bannan, Tamsui-Xinyi, Songshan-Xindian, Zhonghe-Xinlu) and the Wenhu line are all capable of running at frequencies of trains every ~26 seconds, even though most timetabled times are capped at ~1 min 30 sec. My guess is that they dynamically add new services to fit peak hour demand. You can see this for yourself if you go to Fuzhong station at around 8:37 or 8:47am. Before the initial train has even left the station the red lights start blinking again and sometimes the music overlaps which is hilarious.
I'm not sure whether it was because you took local trains. I haven't actively tested the 70km range myself much, but it may have been for the reason you stated. the ticket checks are relentless on TRA trains, one time the ticket I bought went one station before the one I intended to go to, so I decided to just stay on the train and make up the fair at my destination. Right after we left, the train master made a beeline to my seat and asked me to make up the fare right then and there. I still have no idea how they did it. so keeping this in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if they knew you were on local trains and calculated the fare accordingly, though don't quote me on that lmao.
for foreigners, I think, the Taoyuan MRT is simple, easy, and efficient. it gets you where you want to go and you don't need to transfer. the HSR route is really more for people like me who research way too much into trains, though if you do end up taking it that way, do let me know! The Taoyuan Metro's eventual connection to Zhongli is still going to be questionable at best, and will most likely be targeted at those living around Taoyuan and Zhongli looking to commute towards the Airport. Why? Well, Taoyuan Metro already has a connection to the HSR line, which is the gateway for most of the southern residents. The HSR also reaches the North, and so does the original Taoyuan Metro line. Therefore, the only sensible target demographic for the extension would be those who are able to transfer to the Taoyuan MRT through TRA, which is short to medium haul commuters. Keep in mind that most people also have luggage and the like. This essentially splits the Taoyuan MRT into two individual sections, on either side of the Airport. One, you have the commuters from Taipei, and the other, the commuters from Zhongli. The icing on the cake is that the express version of the Taoyuan MRT doesn't even go past the Airport (as I have probably mentioned before I do strongly believe that it should be at least extended to the HSR station), which limits frequency for the other half of the line. Nevertheless, with all of that said, they are still going to be using the space well (integrating the Taoyuan Metro into the Zhongli train station, as well as building a eco-department store [whatever that means] above it, and renovating neighboring districts), so I look forward to its opening somewhere in 2026 I believe.
The Ankeng LRT just recently opened in February of this year, and sadly, I haven't been able to go on it yet. It connects from ShiSiZhang, though, would've been better to run parallel with the Yellow Line to reach QiZhang in my opinion, to eliminate the headway between the one station transfer from ShiSiZhang to QiZhang. The Danhai LRT is really nice. Though it connects from Hongshulin (a really weird place in my opinion, but then again, Tamsui has no more space for expansion) it travels via viaducts to the city center with ample connection to buses and UBike. It's planning to be extended across the river to Bali (please do, the only connection to the other side of the river means riding all the way back to Guandu Bridge then going back up) sometime in the future, and will be the second bridge ever within the general Tamsui area.
Talking about UBikes, yes, I recently did a UBike trip around Kaohsiung. Can confirm that it's not just New Taipei that has the 30 minute leeway. Again, I'm guessing it was put in place to encourage short commutes on more eco-friendly travel options, which I find very good! Taichung and Kaohsiung are both trialing electric assisted bikes as there is much more hilly terrain down south when compared to Taipei and New Taipei.
I'm surprised you didn't touch on Taichung's now non-existent BRT system. While the remnants of the system can still be seen along the main arterial roads, and the BRT 3XX buses still serve them at approximately the same frequency as before, it was sadly abandoned in favor of the metro project. Even though the metro has been riddled with delays and issues (screw politics) it's opened now and connects rather well to the existing bus network. Any bus starting with 3 (at least to my knowledge) runs across Central Taichung and connects with national rail, and comes every 5-8 minutes or so.
Kaohsiung is also working on expanding their network to better accommodate the existing national rail infrastructure that runs through the center of the city. A new 'yellow line' is planned to further the reach of the metro. Something I rather like about Kaohsiung's metro (unlike Taichung's) is that it was built with foresight and expandability in mind. While its trains currently run in 3 car sets, the platforms (and their screen doors) are constructed so that 6 car sets can be easily used without any configuration at all. A small but very important thing that I don't see much in new transit systems around the world as much anymore.
and sure! I'm all for being able to help out. it's not often that I get to rant on and on about the stuff I've picked up over the years haha.
@@jesseduffield747 oh wow i really just wrote a 1500 word essay about public transport
This is fantastic, thank you
You made a really thorough research at Taiwan transportation. That is so great.
Fantastic video - great work
Wow wat a dank video that came up as second in the list on utube search despite the channel size haha
Hi
Hi Rex!
Terrible audio 👎ruin all good info , can’t watch after 3 minutes