The Taiwan Railways Administration gave a sneak peek of its new EMU3000 intercity express on Wednesday. Passengers in Taitung were able to hop on the electric train and go on a short test ride. Taiwan has ordered 50 EMU3000''s from the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi. The first train delivered will enter service on Dec. 29, while another four will be ready for Spring Festival.
With its sleek, minimalist design in black and white, the EMU3000 is the pinnacle of elegance. The train pulls slowly into the platform, which is full of passengers eager to hop on.
Wearing flower crowns, they’re happy as clams as they pose for photos with the new train. The TRA’s new intercity EMU3000 offered its first trial service to the public on Wednesday. The train offers spacious and bright interiors, with charging ports on every seat. Braille signage is up all over the train, which also has dedicated accessible spaces.
Passenger
First of all, it’s very stable. The seats are spacious. It’s not bad at all. It’s squeaky clean.
Passenger
It doesn’t sway as badly. This is the business-class car. The seats are more comfy.
Passengers heap high praise on the new train. One whips out a selfie stick to snap a shot. The EMU3000 is a 12-car train with 538 seats. That’s 40% more capacity than the Taroko Express and the Puyuma Express.
The EMU3000 takes about 15 minutes longer than the Puyuma Express to travel from Taipei to Taitung. But the tickets cost the same: NT$783 for standard and NT$1,145 for business class. The EMU3000 will formally enter service on Dec. 29.
Passenger
As soon as I stepped in, I could tell that the seats would be very comfortable. I can’t wait for the trains to bring joy to passengers on the East Coast.
Feng Hui-sheng
Taiwan Railways Administration
The first train in the first group has already cleared all the testing protocols and the paperwork has all been inspected and approved. Once other trains complete their tests, we’ll add them to the circulation. We hope to have five by the Lunar New Year.
Passengers gaze out the window to take in the stunning mountains, golden fields and big blue skies of Eastern Taiwan. In the future, the TRA plans to replace its old rolling stock with 50 EMU3000s totaling 600 cars. The new trains will offer a more comfortable ride home to East Coast residents.