TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's bullet train network, Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR, 台灣高鐵), announced on Wednesday (May 29) a significant service expansion with 25 additional weekly trains scheduled to begin operation on July 1. The enhancement, comprising 17 southbound and eight northbound journeys, will boost the system's total weekly offerings to 1,128 trips across the island's western corridor. Officials cited growing ridership, particularly during weekend travel peaks on Fridays and Sundays, as the primary motivation behind the service increase.
Ticket sales for the expanded schedule will open to the public beginning June 3, allowing passengers to secure seats on the new trains. The latest expansion continues THSR's responsive approach to ridership trends, following an earlier service increase this year that raised weekly departures from 1,039 to 1,103. Transportation officials noted that 17 of the new trips have actually been operating on a provisional basis since April 14, and these will now become permanent fixtures in the schedule alongside eight completely new services.
The expanded timetable strategically addresses commuter patterns, with particular emphasis on improving short-distance connectivity in the populous corridor north of Taichung, Taiwan's second-largest city. Sunday travelers will benefit from new options including southbound train 1533, departing from Nangang Station (南港) in eastern Taipei at 2:25 p.m., and its counterpart, northbound train 1534, which will originate from Taichung at 1:04 p.m. The company has also designated five additional weekly services with stops at Changhua, Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan stations to better serve southern Taiwan's transportation needs.
This latest schedule enhancement reflects THSR's ongoing commitment to responsive service planning based on actual passenger behavior. The rail operator maintains sophisticated systems to monitor travel patterns across its 350-kilometer network, which has transformed domestic travel since its 2007 inauguration by reducing journey times between Taipei and Kaohsiung from several hours by conventional rail to just 96 minutes. Company representatives emphasized that these adjustments aim to provide more convenient and efficient transportation options for both business travelers and tourists moving throughout western Taiwan. ◼