Formosa Railroad Bento Festival opens at Taipei Main Station

Taipei, June 5 (CNA) The Formosa Railroad Bento Festival opened at Taipei Main Station on Friday, featuring 64 booths and nearly 80 types of lunch boxes.

According to Taiwan Railway Corp. (TR), both the number of booths and the variety of bentos have reached a new high in the festival's 11th edition, which runs until Monday.

In addition to more standard fare, a limited number of premium bento boxes priced at NT$999 (US$31.7) are also on sale.

The bentos feature ingredients ranging from eel, dragon-tiger grouper, and sashimi-grade scallops, and come with gifts such as wooden lunch boxes with stainless steel inner containers, or ceramic pots, said TR.

Japan's JR Hokkaido, which participated in the festival for the first time, launched a special-edition Hakodate Hokuto Special Bento priced at NT$1,100, with 50 limited sets available per day. The bento features a No. 135 track inspection train-shaped ceramic container.

At the festival's opening ceremony, Deputy Transport Minister Wu Sheng-yuan (伍勝園) described Taiwan's railways as arteries of national development, saying that railway bentos are among the most heartwarming elements along the journey.

Railway bentos accompany generations of passengers through their life journeys and reflect Taiwan's social transformation, Wu said.

TR Chairman James Jeng (鄭光遠) said the 11th Formosa Railroad Bento Festival serves as an important platform connecting Taiwan Railways with the public, with each bento carrying shared memories along the journey and reflecting the depth of Taiwan Railways culture.

Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) also participated in the festival, unveiling three new bento options, including mandarin sauce-seasoned grilled pork chop, fried chicken cutlet with scallion oil, and braised tofu skin rolls.

A new selection of bentos from Kaohsiung Airport Catering Services will be available starting at all high-speed rail stations and onboard trains from July 1, THSR said. Each set is priced at NT$110 and comes with a bottle of water as a gift.

THSR added that customers who spend over NT$400 at its festival booths will be eligible for a raffle, with prizes including THSR ticket vouchers and other THSR-sponsored gifts.