High-speed rail adds extra northbound trains as holiday crowds swell

Taipei, Sept. 28 (CNA) Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) added four extra northbound services on Monday to deal with heavy passenger traffic as travelers headed back to their workplaces on the last day of the four-day Mid-Autumn Festival and Teachers' Day holiday.

The operator said the additional trains, all-stop northbound services with all cars except the business class car designated as non-reserved seating, began running in the afternoon.

Two of the extra services departed from Chiayi Station, the first time THSRC has run such trains from that station.

According to THSRC's passenger forecast released at 4:40 p.m., passengers boarding non-reserved cars at stations south of Hsinchu should expect to wait at least 20 minutes for a train.

During the evening peak between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., waiting times could extend to 40-60 minutes or even exceed one hour at some stations.

The longest wait was forecast to be at Changhua Station, where passengers could face delays of 60-80 minutes at around 8 p.m.

Waits of 40-60 minutes were also expected during the evening at Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, Yunlin, Chiayi and Tainan stations.

THSRC said passenger volumes were expected to increase later in the day as travelers returned to their workplaces.

The company set up a forward command post at Taichung Station on Monday morning to coordinate operations to deal with the return travel surge, while Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) visited the station to check on holiday transportation efforts.

THSRC's special six-day holiday transportation schedule runs from Sept. 24 to 29.

Because the Mid-Autumn Festival fell on Sept. 25, homebound crowds surged a day earlier, with a record 348,000 passenger trips taken on Sept. 24, followed by 315,000 trips the next day, bringing the two-day total to 663,000.