David on Formosa

Ticket sales counter for the HSR at Banqiao Station 

Taiwan's High Speed Rail (HSR) is scheduled to open at the end of this month. As of yet there has been no official confirmation of the opening date.

Last week the China Post carried an article reporting on the timetable for the new service. The article says, "The THSRC has recently completed its test run from Panchiao [Banqiao] to Tsoying [Zuoying] and is expected to kick off official operation in the near future." No exact date was given. 

Screen showing departure times for the HSR at Banqiao Station 

I was at Banqiao Station today and there seemed to be some activity surrounding the high speed rail. Screens showing train departure times have recently been installed. Today the screen showed two departure times which I presume are for test runs. A group of people were milling around the ticket sales counter including three men in wheelchairs. I guess they were participating in the test run.

Ticket gates and platform entrance at Banqiao Station

I was at Taipei Station on Sunday and the facilities there appear less than ready. A considerable amount of the works there are still obscured by barriers. Given this, and the China Post article cited above, I guess that if the trains start operating in the near future then they will terminate at Banqiao Station. 

Many people seem to be very cynical about whether the HSR will actually open on time. I am a little more confident. I expect that it will open on time with trains operating on a limited schedule between Banqiao and Zuoying. The full service operating from Taipei will probably start some time next year.

By the way, the New Hampshire Bushman recently posted some pictures of a train stopped on the high speed rail line at Hukou in Xinzhu County.