Transport in Taiwan - Railway transport (2/2)

A few weeks ago at LANDER, we spoke about the importance of road transport in Taiwan, a country that has an extensive infrastructure of roads and bus public transport notwithstanding its small size. Today we'll take a peek at the island's past, back when it was known as Formosa, to talk about another cornerstone of the country's transport: railway transport.

Taiwan's economic strength is also remarkable in the country's robust network of trains, metros and trams running across virtually the entire island (particularly in the east) and providing the country's inhabitants with a convenient and effective transport network.

The Republic of China's network of trains dates back to the end of the 19th century, which thus speaks volumes about the maturity and experience in this transport method, and the country presently has a system spanning over 1,000 kilometres and over 10 different lines that provide services amongst the main cities and commuter trains. The TRA (Taiwan Railways Administration) operates an infrastructure representing over 50% of long-distance trips in the country, followed by intercity buses, which suitably gauges the importance of train travel on the island.

Operating in parallel to this train network, albeit by another entity, Taiwan also has a high-speed north-south train line connecting Taipei and Kaohsiung. Operated by the independent entity Taiwan High Speed Rail, this line was inaugurated in 2007 and provides service to nearly 15% of all long-distance travel in Taiwan.

What else can we say about the urban rail transport system? The growth of this already considerably large network has showed no signs of slowing down in recent years and is expected to continue in the coming years. Taipei also boasts a railway network of over 150 km distributed over 5 metro lines and a cable car, in addition to a further two lines now under construction. New Taipei Metro separately operates one recently opened line, and another two scheduled for the future. The Taoyuan Metro also connects Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan to the airport. The city of Kaohsiung in turn has not only two metro lines but also a currently expanding tram network. With the addition of the projects slated for the Taichung Metro and all these services, the entire public transport network is now set to render the railway more competitive with intercity buses, tallying over 40% of the total commuting transit.

Taiwan clearly has a first-hand understanding of the importance of the transport network, which the country has been demonstrating for several decades. In fact, the country's technology and knowledge in operating this type of transport are an example for many other countries in the region, becoming the bellwether for the many Southeast Asian metro networks.

LANDER has strong support in Taiwan, thanks to a local partner with extensive experience in the world of transport, something that we trust will enable our company to continue our progress in railway transport on the island and let LANDER repeat other successful experiences in Southeast Asia.

Feel free to follow our LinkedIn page, which discusses and shares LANDER's latest news and information updates.