The ''Taroko Express'' () is an express train service of the

Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...

, and is part of ''Tze-Chiang'' Limited Express. The name of the service comes from the long Taroko Gorge, which is one of Taiwan's most popular tourist spots, and the

Truku people The Taroko people (), also known as Truku people, are an Indigenous Taiwanese people. Taroko is also the name of the area of Taiwan where the Taroko reside. The Executive Yuan, Republic of China has officially recognized the Taroko since 15 Janua ...

. It began commercial operations on 16 February 2007. The ''Taroko Express'' uses the tilting

electrical multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

series known as TEMU1000 based on the

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Str ...

885 series The is an AC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated on limited express services by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) in Japan. The type is part of Hitachi's ''A-train'' family of multiple units. Operations The 885 series is operate ...

. They were imported to Taiwan in 2006; since 2007, they have been running between Hualien and

Taipei City Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

, on the curved

Yilan line The Yilan Line () is the northern section of the Eastern Line of the Taiwan Railways Administration in Taiwan. It has a length of 95 km. History This railroad was completed in 1924 as the Giran-sen during Imperial Japanese rule over Taiwan. ...

at the existing

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

tracks, where they reduced traveling time between the two places from previously 3 hours down to about 2 hours. Some trains also continue from Taipei to . Its maximum operational speed is . TRA TED1014 Hello Kitty train at Kaohsiung Station 20160808

TRA TED1014 Hello Kitty train at Kaohsiung Station 20160808

On 2 April 2021, a ''Taroko Express'' train derailed in Hualien County, killing 49 people with many others injured.

References

Electric multiple units of Taiwan Tilting trains {{Taiwan-rail-transport-stub 25 kV AC multiple units Hitachi multiple units

See also

References