Taiwan High Speed Rail to add rush-hour non-reserved trains

台灣高鐵將增開尖峰時段非對號列車

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation will add two southbound trains per hour on Friday evenings, with most cars offering non-reserved seating, to ease crowding during peak travel hours.

The additional service will operate every Friday between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., THSRC said last Monday. Eight extra southbound trains will depart from Nangang or Taipei during the four hours and terminate at Taichung, per CNA.

All cars on the additional trains will offer unreserved seating except business class. THSRC said the busiest section for unreserved passengers is north of Taichung, where heavy crowds can also affect travelers with reserved seats.

The changes follow severe crowding during the Mid-Autumn Festival and Teachers' Day holiday period. A record 347,970 passengers used the high-speed rail on Sept. 24, while nearly 1.79 million traveled between Sept. 24 and 29, according to Economic Daily News.

Some passengers with reserved seats nearly missed their trains because of the crowds. Business-class passengers also complained that people with unreserved tickets had entered their cars.

To increase capacity, the operator will reverse trains directly at station platforms before sending them back into service. The arrangement will allow trains to begin their return journeys within about 12 minutes and reduce waiting times for northbound passengers, per TVBS News.

Before the regular Friday service begins, the new arrangement will first be used on Thursday during the National Day holiday travel period. Two extra southbound trains per hour will run to Taichung that day, while selected services will provide nine to 11 cars with unreserved seating.

A late-night train will also be added on Thursday, followed by an extra northbound service on Friday. The measures are intended to increase capacity before new trains enter service next July, per CTEE.