COST OF LIVING/Taiwan Railway board adopts plan to raise fares by 26.8% on average

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) The Taiwan Railway Corp. board of directors on Wednesday adopted a plan to raise ticket fares by an average of 26.8 percent, the railway company said.

The fare adjustment plan will be sent to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications for review, after which it will be reviewed by the Executive Yuan.

After the reviews are passed, the new fares will be announced two months before they are officially implemented following system upgrades.

Transport Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said the new fares could come into in effect as soon as the first half of 2025.

The fare adjustments will diminish relative to distance traveled, meaning long-distance trips will see relatively lower increases, according to the company.

For example, the ticket fare for a Tze-Chiang express train ride from Taipei to Kaohsiung will increase from NT$824 (US$25.09) to NT$975 -- a 18.33 percent hike, while the journey on the same train from Taipei to Taichung will rise from NT$375 to NT$501 -- a 33.6 percent rise.

Ticket fares for Taiwan Railway transport have remained unchanged for 30 years.

In 2024, the Taiwan Railway Administration, which is managed by the government, was reorganized as Taiwan Railway Corp.

In its first year as a state-owned company, it incurred losses of NT$13.79 billion, with a loss of NT$10.1 billion from its railway transport operations.

One factor contributing to the losses is the low ticket fares, the company said.