191 extra high-speed trains to run for Tomb Sweeping Festival

Taipei, March 3 (CNA) Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) said Tuesday it will add 191 train services during the upcoming Tomb Sweeping Festival holiday, with ticket bookings available from 12 a.m. Thursday.

This year's Tomb Sweeping Festival holiday runs four days from April 3-6. To meet anticipated heavy demand, THSRC will implement a six-day special service schedule from April 2-7, the company said in a statement.

A total of 191 additional trains -- 73 southbound and 118 northbound -- will operate during the peak period, bringing the total number of services over the six days to 1,162.

Tickets for the holiday period will go on sale from March 5 through THSRC's online booking system, partner convenience store ticketing services, the T-EX mobile app, as well as station ticket counters and automated ticketing machines.

To accommodate late-night travelers, THSRC said it will schedule 13 trains with delayed final departures during the holiday period. These services will arrive at their terminal stations after midnight, with the latest reaching its destination at 1 a.m. Each of the 13 trains will include two non-reserved seating cars.

In addition, the company announced short-term weekend service increases over three consecutive weeks from March 13-29, ahead of the holiday, to serve passengers returning home early for tomb sweeping and to meet travel demand generated by large-scale events across Taiwan.