Train rides in Taiwan is not that disappointing, but yet to be satisfying!
Arriving Taitung from Taipei by Train
2 main express train types are running between Taipei & Taitung:
Chu-Kuang (莒光), orange color train, about 7.5HR, NTD605
Tze-Chiang (自強), silver color train, about 4~6HR, NTD785
TRA Official Website
Timetable Inquiry
Internet Ticketing by English website
Internet Ticketing by Chinese website
Tze-Chiang is definately a better choice for travelling!
Nowadays, TRA(Taiwan Rail Administration) provides 2 Almost-Direct-Train everyday for both southbound and northbound between Taipei and Taitung.
These special trains for better choices:
South Bound
Tze-Chiang 1079 Taipei 0800- Taitung 1239 (about 4.5hrs)
Tze-Chiang 1081 Taipei 1820- Taitung 2259 (about 5hrs)
North Bound
Tze-Chiang 1070 Taitung 0732- Taipei 1217 (less than 5hrs)
Tze-Chiang 1080 Taitung 1745- Taipei 2214 (4.5hour!!)
these 4 trains got less stops all the way! Especially TC1081 is really my good choice on Friday to get away from Taipei!
Tzu-Chiang 2080/2079 is the special charter train running daily around Taiwan with nice seats like sofa in the train, with colorful painting on train. However, due to availability, these 2 trains are not that easily available, anyways! These 2 special train tickets can be purchased by certain travel agents in Taiwan, where they sell the Ticket+In Train Dining Package!
Some other special trains may be good choices for backpackers:
Overnight Trains
Chu-Kuan 11 Taitung 2210- Taipei 0516
Chu-Kuan 63 Taipei 2305- Taitung 2305
I take Chu-Kuan 11 quite often on Sunday night and return Taipei in very early in the morning! Well, some travel-kits should be prepared to ensure a comfortable sleep on train: Eyes Mask to avoid the light in train, Ear plug to block the noise of train and passengers, Blanket to avoid freezing air-con in train, Alarm by your mobile to ensure you wake up in Taipei!
One good news was that starting from last year, Taiwan Rail Administration assigned one train car into all wider seats configuration, where allows better sleep on the overnight train! Seats look like the photo above! Same train but selling as Tze-Chiang Express price! This is another good choice though!
Of course, a VENTI DOUBLE EXPRESSO LAITE is a MUST to cope my Monday Blue in office!!!
If you can't stand sitting in the train over 3 hours, sometimes I do another way have enjoy some fun in transitting in Hualien, the main city on the way to Taipei from Taitung! Especially the train between Taipei and Hualien is always more got more frequencies and better trains! By the same price of Tze-Chiang, if you can pick up right train of "TOROKO Train", which provides really nice clean neat cabin and great rail ride experience!
Don't ask me "Why Tokoro Train not running to Taitung?"
Well...leave this question to the government....whatelse I can know!
See how Tokoro Train look like, newly adopted system from Japan, providing leather seats and faster speed better train ride service!
Reservation rules:
Reservation by TRA official website is rather easy! TRA opens the reservation 2weeks ahead from departure. If you are keen to catch the most ideal train, better do that once it opens! Reservation Online (or by Telephone) only opens from 6:00-00:00mid night everyday. Not surprising if trains are fully booked within 30min for super hot seasons like Chinese New Year! The Online Reservation only requires your ARC or your Taiwan friend's ID number or passport number. Once reservation is done, you should pay for the ticket within 2 days after your reservation is done. You may pay online by your credit card by this website, once this ticket is paid, you may collect your ticket in the train station by the deadline of 30min before your train departure. (I do this way because I am lazy in someway).
Otherwise go to any railway station to pay for ticket and collect the ticket.
TRA System Online Payment
In case of any cancellation for your trip, if you pay online, you can cancel the creditcard payment online by the deadline of 3hours before train departure. Otherwise, you need to go to the counter in station to refund by person! 13NTD will be charged for cancellation!
For 13NTD such "Great benefits" from TRA, what I do normally is...once I got the idea of travelling, I book and pay right away, even it is still 2 weeks ahead! In the last min, I can really know that if my schedule allow my trip to Taitung or not, then i decide to collect ticket or to cancel! 13NTD...quite good deal though!
Online reservation function sometimes is not that English friendly because not all the functions are available in English website. Actually I do still suggest any of your Taiwan friends to assist your reservation! At least, "Checking remaining available seats" function is not available in English website though I found this the easier way to get my seats!
Online Reservation System English Page
But once you choose Mandarin website, you need to make reservation number any Taiwan ID holders! (weird system then!)
Fair enough!! i mentioned at beginning, not disappointing but yet to be satisfying!
Reservation tips
TRA set up some alloment for different departure/arrival city combination, so it is kinda confusing about how the availability works! If in case of availability problem that might block your will to visit Taitung, try another way:
Book your ticket between Yi-Lan and Taitung only!
The main cities on the east coast of Taiwan are
Taipei- SungShan- YiLan- Luo Dong- Hua Lien - Yu Lee - Chi Shang/Kuan Shan- Taitung
Try any combination of any 2 cities mentioned above, of course Yi-Lan and Taitung will be the better choice.
If only between Yi-Lan to Taitung (or vice versa) available, you may take the bus from Taipei to Yilan for faster and cheaper a bit way to reach Taitung! Bus services between Taipei and Yilan is available with the launch of YiLan Tunnel. By train, Taipei to Yilan takes about 1.5hours but by Bus without traffic will be only around 40min! Well, none can control the traffic on the way, so I rather suggest you to do this way for Taitung back to Taipei. For Train to connect bus is easier to manage the punctuality than bus to connect train, right?
I did this way for super peak Chinese New Year Holiday! It works though!
For any of you living in some other cities in Taiwan, more than welcome to ask! Comparing with Taipei, actually travelling from Koahsiung or Taichung got easier ways to reach Taitung though!
Here are the updated (April 2011) Train Schedule for your information:
From Taipei to Taitung by TC(Tzu4-Chiang2, Silver Train)
TC2079 0615-1348 7h33m **1
TC1051 0630-1210 5h33m
TC1079 0800-1239 4h49m
TC1053 1000-1524 5h24m
FH0173 1218-1919 6H00m **2
TC1055 1320-1902 5h51m
TC1057 1710-2249 5h35m
TC1081 1820-2259 4h39m
TC1065 1840-0019 5h39m
**TC2079 & TC2080 is special charter train by Travel agent, offer all inclusive dining & wider seat package which cost around NTD2000+ one way. However, you can only pay NTD800 for wider seat only without F&B service! Both trains are running around Taiwan from Taipei to Taipei, but TC2079 is starting toward west bound (Taipei-Taichung-Kaohsiung-Taitung-Hualien-Taipei) but TC2080 is starting toward east bound (Taipei-Hualien-Taitung-Kaohsiung-Taichung-Taipei).
**FH(FuHsing) is the extra weekend train, running slower but even cheaper price, which is only NTD500 one way! This new extra train service was just launched in this April!
From Taipei to Taitung by CK(Chu3Kuang1, Orange Train)
CK0075 0650-1252 6h02m **Every Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun
CK0042 1014-1723 7h08m
CK0057 1440-2150 7h10m
CK0063 2305-0557 7h00m **Same train serves "Business Class" wider seats!
For some weekend gataway to Taitung, this combination will allow you enjoy the new train “TOROKO Line” with leather seats/wider seat pitch and running even a bit faster!
TC1091 TRK Taipei-Hualien 07:20 09:25 2H05
TC1051 -- Hualien-Taitung 09:30 12:10 2H40
TC1086 TRK Taipei-Hualien 09:20 11:30 2H10
TC2064 -- Hualien-Taitung 11:37 14:18 2H40
TC1181 TRK Taipei-Hualien 13:00 14:59 1H59
TC2060 -- Hualien-Taitung 15:29 17:33 2H04
TC1082 TRK Taipei-Hualien 17:40 19:50 2H10
TC1057 -- Hualien-Taitung 20:13 22:49 2H36
TC1187 TRK Taipei-Hualien 19:30 21:35 2H05
TC1065 -- Hualien-Taitung 21:40 00:19 2H39
From Taitung to Taipei by TC(Tzu4-Chiang2, Silver Train)
TC1052 Taitung-Taipei 06:23 12:02 5h 39m
TC1070 Taitung-Taipei 07:32 12:17 4h 45m
TC2058 Taitung-Taipei 07:55 15:26 7h 31m
TC1054 Taitung-Taipei 11:12 16:49 5h 37m
TC1059 Taitung-Taipei 13:12 19:07 5h 55m
TC1058 Taitung-Taipei 14:55 20:39 5h 44m
TC1060 Taitung-Taipei 16:40 22:06 5h 26m
TC1080 Taitung-Taipei 17:45 22:14 4h 29m
**TC2079 & TC2080 is special charter train by Travel agent, offer all inclusive dining & wider seat package which cost around NTD2000+ one way. However, you can only pay NTD800 for wider seat only without F&B service! Both trains are running around Taiwan from Taipei to Taipei, but TC2079 is starting toward west bound (Taipei-Taichung-Kaohsiung-Taitung-Hualien-Taipei) but TC2080 is starting toward east bound (Taipei-Hualien-Taitung-Kaohsiung-Taichung-Taipei).
From Taitung to Taipei by CK(Chu3Kuang1, Orange Train)
CK58 Taitung-Taipei 07:55 15:26 7h 31m
CK29 Taitung-Taipei 11:25 18:56 7h 31m
CK80 Taitung-Taipei 13:50 21:32 7h 42m
CK74 Taitung-Taipei 15:38 21:42 6h 4m
CK11 Taitung-Taipei 22:30 05:26 6h 56m
**CK11 Overnight train, provides "Business" class seats
For some weekend gataway to Taitung, this combination will allow you enjoy the new train “TOROKO Line” with leather seats/wider seat pitch and running even a bit faster!
TC2061 Taitung-Hualien 09:38 12:09 2h 31m
TC1094 -- Hualien-Taipei 12:15 14:20 2h 5m
TC1054 Taitung-Hualien 11:12 13:52 2h 40m
TC1066 -- Hualien-Taipei 14:30 16:30 2h
TC2053 Taitung-Hualien 15:25 17:54 2h 29m
TC1085 Hualien-Taipei 18:00 20:10 2h 10m
TC1060 Taitung-Hualien 16:40 19:08 2h 28m
TC1188 -- Hualien-Taipei 19:30 21:35 2h 5m
TC2055 Taitung-Hualien 19:12 21:55 2h 43m
TC1074 -- Hualien-Taipei 22:05 00:10 2h 5m
Arriving Taitung from Kaohsiung by Trains
Trains between Kaohsiung & Taipei got 3 different train types
By the new launch of MRT Koahsiung system, transfer from High Speed Rail Station (Zuo3Ying2) seems easier! Some trains even stops in 新左營 (Xin1Zuo3Ying2) Station, where you can simple walk from Taiwan Rail System Station to High Speed Rail Station.
Besides, most trains are now operating continuous service from/to Xin Zuo Ying Station. It means that you will have a much smoother connection to/from High Speed Rail to Taiwan Railway system in Xin Zuo Ying this station!
Some train schedule might be good enough for your same day connection to or from Kaohsiung international airport. If your flight leaving from Kaohsiung around 11am or later, first train from Taitung to Kaohsiung can offer good connecting time to catch up the plane. Of course, if your flight landing Kaohsiung around 8pm or even 9pm, you can still catch up the latest train departure from Kaohsiung on 22:35!
TC (Tzu4 Chiang1 Silver Train) about 2.5h or less, NTD364 one way
CK (Chu3 Kuang1 Orange Train) about 3h or less, NTD280 one way
Train from Kaohsiung to Taitung
CK91 Kaohsiung To Taitung 06:40 10:07 3h 27m
TC2061 Kaohsiung To Taitung 07:12 09:33 2h 21m
TC2059 Kaohsiung To Taitung 08:45 10:50 2h 5m
TC2081 Kaohsiung To Taitung 09:25 12:30 3h 5m
CK81 Kaohsiung To Taitung 09:25 12:30 3h 5m
TC1059 Kaohsiung To Taitung 10:38 13:02 2h 24m
CK79 Kaohsiung To Taitung 11:25 13:48 2h 23m
TC2053 Kaohsiung To Taitung 12:40 15:15 2h 35m
CK93 Kaohsiung To Taitung 14:10 17:23 3h 13m
TC2055 Kaohsiung To Taitung 16:30 19:08 2h 38m
CK95 Kaohsiung To Taitung 16:48 19:35 2h 47m
TC2065 Kaohsiung To Taitung 18:18 20:59 2h 41m
CK97 Kaohsiung To Taitung 19:10 22:25 3h 15m
CK99 Kaohsiung To Taitung 21:05 23:59 2h 54m
TC2069 Kaohsiung To Taitung 22:55 01:10 2h 15m
**Trains departure from Xin Zuo Ying Station should be around 10~20min earlier than train departure from Kaohsiung! Please check the most updated train schedules by TRA website!
Train from Taitung to Kaohsiung Staton
TC2052 Taitung To Kaohsiung 06:15 08:47 2h 32m
CK90 Taitung To Kaohsiung 07:43 10:55 3h 12m
TC2054 Taitung To Kaohsiung 08:45 11:26 2h 41m
CK92 Taitung To Kaohsiung 09:53 13:14 3h 21m
TC1072 Taitung To Kaohsiung 11:00 13:27 2h 27m
CK94 Taitung To Kaohsiung 12:48 15:59 3h 11m
CK80 Taitung To Kaohsiung 13:50 16:23 2h 33m
TC2064 Taitung To Kaohsiung 14:22 16:46 2h 24m
CK96 Taitung To Kaohsiung 14:50 17:44 2h 54m
CK82 Taitung To Kaohsiung 16:00 19:08 3h 8m
CK98 Taitung To Kaohsiung 17:25 20:47 3h 22m
TC2060 Taitung To Kaohsiung 17:40 19:47 2h 7m
TC1055 Taitung To Kaohsiung 19:10 21:44 2h 34m
TC2066 Taitung To Kaohsiung 20:35 23:00 2h 25m
** Now most trains heading to Kaohsiung will be terminated by Xin Zuo Ying Station, to where will take about another 10~20min on the same train! From Xin Zuo Ying Station, it will be easy to transfer to High Speed Rail System. Please check the TRA official website for most details schedules!
For the 24hour high way bus service running in between Taipei – Kaohsiung, somehow taking Kaohsiung as another option to come to Taitung or return Taipei might be another alternation for backpackers! Why not? If that carry out easily the way to “Travel Around Taiwan”?
People travelling from other west coast cities to Taitung, such as Tainan, Chia Yi, Taichung, HsinChu may consider to take High Speed Rail to Kaoshiung (Zuo Ying Station) then connect to proper train from Xin Zuo Ying Station to Taitung!
High Speed Rail Zuo Ying Station and TRA Xin Zuo Ying Station are constructed in same building but different side of platform!
OK, you've done the complete information about how to come to Taitung, then, what are you waiting for?
Related Articlet: Taiwan Train Reservation Step-By-Step
::Train to Taitung, Taiwan Railway Syste, Taiwan High Speed Rail System, Taiwn Train, Tze-Chiang Express, Chu-Kwang Express::
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