Train: High-Speed Rail and Taiwan Railways

Taiwan’s rail network divides into two distinct systems, each serving different purposes and requiring different booking strategies.

High-Speed Rail (台灣高鐵, HSR)

This Japanese-style shinkansen runs along the west coast from Taipei (actually Nangang, on Taipei’s eastern edge) to Zuoying (Kaohsiung) in roughly 90 minutes. Stations serve 11 cities, but here’s the crucial detail: HSR stations often sit far from city centres (except for the stations in Taipei), requiring onward metro or bus connections. In-train displays announce upcoming stations in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and English.

You can book HSR tickets online, through the T-Express app, or at station machines and counters. Reserved seats cost slightly more than unreserved but guarantee seating. Standard and Business class exist; most travellers find Standard perfectly comfortable. Early bird discounts (20-35 percent off) apply to tickets booked 5-28 days ahead, but these limited-quantity tickets sell fast.

Taiwan High-Speed Rail offers tourist passes for unlimited travel: three-day passes for foreign passport holders. Please check the official website to know the details.

Taiwan Railways (台灣鐵路, TRA)

This older conventional rail system reaches places HSR doesn’t, particularly the scenic eastern coast. It’s also cheaper and serves far more stations, making it ideal for smaller towns. The route of TRA is quite straightforward-it’s a circular line around Taiwan with several branches, usually lead to tourist spots. In-train displays announce upcoming stations in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, English and indigenous language (along east coast).

There are several classes about TRA’s trains. Roughly speaking, there are three types: from the fastest ones, including Taroko express（太魯閣）/Puyuma express（普悠瑪）/Tze-Chiang Ltd. Express (3000)（新自強） trains, they usually stop at the major stations in each city, only have reserved seating, and advance booking is essential. The second fastest classes are Tze-Chiang Limited Express（自強）, Chu-Kuang（莒光）, they don’t stop at small stations and have mixing reserved and unreserved cars. Lastly, Local trains（區間） stops at every station and all seats are unreserved.

Here’s where it gets complex: some TRA trains accept EasyCard/iPass for unreserved seating on short journeys, but longer journeys and all reserved seats require separate tickets. The safest approach is if travelling more than 50 kilometres or wanting guaranteed seating, book a proper ticket through the TRA website, app, or station counters and machines. Since smart cards can be used with unreserved cars only, you cannot take Taroko express（太魯閣）/Puyuma express（普悠瑪）/Tze-Chiang Ltd. Express (3000)（新自強） trains with smart cards.

Taiwan Railways offer tourist passes for unlimited travel. Please check the official website to know the details.