Taichung:Taiwan: Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) introduced four additional northbound trains on Monday to accommodate the heavy passenger traffic as individuals returned to work following the four-day Mid-Autumn Festival and Teachers' Day holiday.
According to Focus Taiwan, these extra services, which feature all-stop northbound routes with non-reserved seating in all cars except for the business class, commenced running in the afternoon. Notably, two of these services departed from Chiayi Station, marking the first occasion THSRC has operated such trains from this location.
THSRC projected that passengers boarding non-reserved cars at stations south of Hsinchu should anticipate waiting at least 20 minutes for a train. During the peak evening hours between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., wait times could extend to 40-60 minutes or even exceed one hour at certain stations. The longest delays were expected at Changhua Station, with waits of 60-80 minutes anticipated around 8 p.m. Similar wait times of 40-60 minutes were forecasted at stations in Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan.
Passenger traffic was expected to increase later in the day as individuals continued to return to work. To manage the return travel surge, THSRC established a forward command post at Taichung Station on Monday morning, with Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai visiting to oversee holiday transportation efforts.
THSRC's special six-day holiday transportation schedule, spanning from September 24 to 29, was implemented to manage the increased demand. The Mid-Autumn Festival, which took place on September 25, saw a significant rise in homebound travelers, with a record 348,000 passenger trips on September 24, followed by 315,000 trips the next day, totaling 663,000 over the two days.