THSR sees record number of riders

The Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) carried a record 348,000 passengers on Thursday, the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend and 315,000 riders on Friday, the operator said.

The four-day holiday began on Friday and ends today, which is Teachers’ Day in Taiwan.

The high number of passengers led to overcrowding on some trains, with people with non-reserved seat tickets spilling into reserved-seat and business-class cars, prompting complaints on social media.

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp staff guide passengers at Taipei Main Station on Thursday, the eve of the four-day Mid-Autumn Festival and Teachers’ Day long weekend.

Photo: CNA

One person who identified themselves as a business-class passenger wrote on Threads that they had chosen business class tickets to avoid being disturbed, adding that regulations prohibit non-reserved seat ticket holders from entering business-class cars.

People with non-reserved seat tickets who stand in business-class cars should pay the fare difference, they said.

A business-class ticket from Nangang (南港) in Taipei to Zuoying (左營) in Kaohsiung costs NT$2,500, while a non-reserved seat ticket costs NT$1,480, the THSR’s Web site shows.

Vehicles encounter heavy traffic on the northbound lanes of the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) yesterday, the third day of the four-day Mid-Autumn Festival and Teachers’ Day long weekend.

Photo: CNA

Passengers with non-reserved seat tickets who stand in higher-priced cars will be charged the fare difference and might face a penalty equivalent to 50 percent of the difference, the Web site says.

The operator expected another wave of heavy traffic yesterday and today as travelers return home.

They recommended people to return earlier if possible, and advised people with non-reserved seat tickets to check the non-reserved seat wait time on its Web site and to travel during periods with a green indicator to avoid peak hour-crowds.