Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) is one of the several things that impressed me greatly. It has stops in all major cities in Taiwan. This service lets you visit places around Taiwan super-conveniently. Fast and safe! Plus, there are plenty vast network buses with comfortable air-conditioned to get you from train station to your destination.
To buy a ticket, you can go to the counter or use the ticket vending machines. Note: if u use this kind of ticket, don’t forget to keep your ticket til you pass the exit gate at the next station, or you’ll have to pay a fine. But, If you’re going to spend any length of time here, it’s much better to get yourself an Easy Card* the best part of using this as a student is, you can get a discount on railway n bus fares.
*Easycard is a ‘touch-and-go’ card for payment, to pay bus and other public transport services. And u can also use it to buy things in convenience stores (7-11, family mart, etc) or supermarkets. You can get this card at the Taipei main station counter.
Before you go, you can check the updated timetable and fare information at this website. They also provide online booking service. Any buses or train will always be on time upon the schedules (well it is delayed sometimes, but in my experience I never wait for more than 10 mins, unless something wrong happen), so u dont have to worry of wasting your time waiting for them.
- Taipei MRT
The Taipei MRT really makes your life easier. Taipei is the capital of Taiwan which means there are many places to visit here (Taipei 101 city icon, attraction places, shopping mall, etc...) and Taipei MRT is the best way to fulfill your travel desire. You can get maps and booklet for information about places-to-go (which is in English) at Taipei main station. It will guide you where to stop and go. The fares are based on the distance you take. You can check the fare and amount of money you have left every time you beep your card to a reader device.
Taipei MRT map
- TR pass (Taiwan Rail pass)
This is another cool package. With this ticket, you will have unlimited access to TRA services (local and express train). TR pass let you travel around Taiwan for several days, depends on your ticket type. When you have this, you only need to show the ticket to the staff when you go-in and –out the station. I think this is really convenient for foreigners, who don’t own private car, to visit several places at once.
Ticket type/price
5-days pass / NT$ 599
7-days pass / NT$ 799
10-days pass / NT$ 1098
This program is actually to encourage youth citizens and foreigner students to travel around by train. More information available here
My TR pass, when i went to Hualien for Tzu-chi camp
- THSR (Taiwan High Speed Rail)
And..this is another awesome thing in Taiwan. They always have answer for every complaint. When you need to get to the other side of Taiwan in a hurry, THSR is the answer (台灣高鐵; táiwān gāotiě; www.thsrc.com.tw/en/). It is operated from capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaoshiung. A bit expensive, but I think it’s worth it. You can cut your travel time by two third. Let say, Taoyuan-Kaoshiung with TRA à 5 hours long. Taoyuan-Kaoshiung with THSR à 1.30 hours long.
I definitely would love to have something like this in my country, or at least in Jakarta first. In 2004, the former governor came up with the idea of bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta. Unfortunately is not really solving the traffic jam in Jakarta. Now, the new governor forced to start the MRT project in October 2013. It is estimated to finish in 2017 for several routes. I really hope this would work. Let’s hope for the better future. My sweet hometown.
