The Leisure Express

This article was written by Kelly Her and published by the Taiwan Review on November 1, 2005. It features Taiwan's around-the-island railway network, which was completed in 1992. Since then, the Taiwan Railway Administration has been promoting railway tours that showcase famous scenic spots in every corner of the island.

In February 2001, the Taiwan Railway Administration launched the Hualien Tourist Train, which connects Taipei to Hualien on a daily basis. It was followed by the Spring Princess, which runs between Taipei, Hualien and Taitung, in September, and the Kenting Star, which runs from Taipei to Pingtung, in November.

These specially designed tourist trains are different from ordinary ones, as they are fitted with fewer seats in each carriage to ensure comfortable passenger seating. These trains are also hooked to dining and lounge carriages to fulfill every one of the passengers' needs. The Taiwan Railway Administration has been working with county and city governments to increase train frequency and extend operating hours, so that more passengers can get to more destinations conveniently.

Since Taiwan is a small island, with only short distances between cities, traveling by train is easier and cheaper than air travel and often faster than driving. The most popular tickets for these brightly colored tourist trains are one-day passes. However, the deluxe four-day, three-night excursion package, the Formosa Star, runs on every Monday from Taipei to Hualien, Taitung, Kaohsiung and Changhua, then back to Taipei. In addition to train fair, the package also includes accommodations and guided tours.

The article further introduces other specially designed train tours provided by the Taiwan Railway Administration. For example, the Railway Travel Consortium is composed of 35 domestic travel agencies that team up with numerous hotels, restaurants, theme parks and souvenir shops around the island in order to create new travel packages. Two companies, ezTravel and Ole Travel Service Co., have fully utilized the market potential for railway travel in Taiwan and are doing excellent business selling tourist train tickets. The article ends with a review on how the tourist trains have contributed to the recent booming of various local businesses.