David on Formosa

Taiwan's Taroko tilting trains officially began passenger service yesterday. The trains will operate between Taipei and Hualian, cutting travel time on the route from three to two hours. 

The official name of the train is Tàilǔgé hào (太魯閣號) named after Taroko Gorge in Hualian County, one of Taiwan's most famous tourist attractions. 

The new trains were manufactured in Japan by Hitachi. They have a top speed of 150 km/h, although they will have an operating speed of 130 km/h. Tilting train technology allows the trains to travel around corners 20 to 25 km/h faster than normal trains. Some more information about tilting train technology can be found at Wikipedia and at Oliver Keating's website. There is also an article at Wikipedia (in Chinese) on the new Taroko trains.  

The China Post reports that in addition to the new Taroko trains to Hualian the TRA is also introducing more Ziqiang Hao (自強號) services between Taipei and Kaohsiung. This will result in changes to the schedule of 500 train services. The Taipei Times says that the Taroko trains will use nanotechnology to reduce odors in the bathrooms and help keep the windows clean. The technology will later be added to other TRA trains. 

* I first mentioned the trains on this blog last November. There is an excellent photoset by CD's Pit at flickr with many photos of the new trains. Also check this photo from the Taiwan News. The photo above is from the TRA website.