The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) conducted a public test ride of its tilting trains along the North Link yesterday.
"Alright," yelled a TRA driver, as the train -- also known as Taroko Express -- pulled out of Taipei Main Station at 2pm.
The tilting train is equipped with a mechanism that allows it to counteract the centrifugal force generated when driving through curves. Rather than slowing down the train, drivers of tilting trains increase speed slightly when negotiating curves.
The train yesterday only took one hour and 55 minutes to get to Hualien. That compares with a travel time of nearly three hours for the usual express trains, known as Tzuchiang Express.
Although the ride was a little bumpy at the beginning, it went on smoothly afterward.
Passengers who were seated could hardly feel the train tilt, but it was palpable to those who were standing during the ride.
The TRA started using the newly imported trains to transport passengers during the Lunar New Year, but it had yet to test the trains' ability to tilt.
TRA Director-General Chen Feng-nan (
But for now, the trains will only operate the Taipei-Hualien route. Ticket prices are the same as those of Tzuchiang Express trains.
Chen added that TRA would not sell standing room tickets.
"Some may want to board the train anyway even if they are told no seats are available," Chen said. "We will tell them that they might experience slight discomfort during the trip and advise them to take the next train instead."
A total of six trains will operate on the Taipei-Hualien route during weekdays. Two additional trains will be added to the service during weekends. That would expand TRA's train service capacity by 200 seats a day, he said.
Aside from inviting members of the media to the test ride yesterday, the TRA also called on Sung Ya-yung (宋亞芸), the winner of last year's train naming contest.
"I have traveled to Taroko Gorge before and thought it was just such a beautiful place," Sung said, explaining where she got the inspiration for the train's name.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS