page_title: Taiwan Railways Administration
section_title: Overview
hierarchical_section_title: Taiwan Railways Administration / Overview
caption_attribution_description: English: TRA purchased six sets of Hitachi 8-car 130 km/h tilting trains, based on JR Kyushu’s 885- series design, for US$85 million, to provide accelerated East Coast services. Locally called “Taroko trains” after the mountain gorge
context_page_description: Taiwan Railways Administration, 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 on 1097 km of track in Taiwan.
  Since Taiwan is heavily urbanised with a high population density, railways have played an important part in domestic transportation since the late 19th century. Passenger traffic in 2018 was 231,267,955.
  The agency's headquarters are in Zhongzheng District, Taipei.
context_section_description: Railway services between Keelung and Hsinchu began in 1891 under China's Qing Dynasty. Because the railway was completely rebuilt and substantially expanded under the Taiwan Governor-General Railways (zh) operated by Formosa's Japanese colonial government (1895-1945), the network's Japanese influence and heritage persists. Similarities between the TRA and the Japan Railways (JR) companies can be noted in signal aspects, signage, track layout, fare controls, station architecture, and operating procedures. As Japan's southern base during WWII, Taiwan's railways suffered significant damage by Allied air raids. The Taiwan Railways Administration was established on 5 March 1948 to reconstruct and operate railway infrastructure, with Lang Chung-hsiung (zh) as its first Director-General.
  With around 13,500 employees (4,700 in transportation and 7,700 in maintenance titles), TRA is a government organisation under Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communication (MOTC) that directly operates 682 route miles of 3’6” (1,067 mm) gauge railways. Three mainlines form a complete circle around the island. TRA's West Coast line and Badu-Hualien section feature mostly double-track, electrification, modern colour light and cab
  signalling, overrun protection, and centralized traffic control (CTC). South-link line, east coast Taitung (converted from 762 mm gauge), and three “tourist” branches are non-electrified
  single-track with passing sidings.
  Since the early 1980s, conventional railway capital improvements are nationally funded and managed by the MOTC's Railway Reconstruction Bureau, then turned over to TRA for operations. Taiwan's challenging terrain meant all lines feature extensive tunneling and long bridges. Double-tracking frequently requires construction of parallel single-track railroads or bypass tunnels on new alignments.
  The US$14.5 billion standard gauge high-speed rail (HSR) line was built and operated by a separate public-private partnership under a 35-year concession, but TRA provides feeder services to HSR terminals. Although TRA operates all commuter rail, other quasi-private organizations operate subways in Taipei and Kaohsiung.
  Local and intercity passenger services (5am – 1am, very few overnight trains) operate at 95.3% on-time performance. 2008 annual passenger ridership was 179 million (incurring 5.45 billion passenger-miles), generating US$434 million in revenue. Commuter trains carry 76% of riders (43% of passenger miles). WCML carries >90% of ridership. TRA's loose-car and unit-train bulk freight services haul mainly aggregates (58% of tonnage), cement (26%), and coal (9%). In 2008, 9.5 million tons of freight (481 million ton-miles) generated US$28.6 million in revenue. Limited container services operate between the port of Hualien and suburban Taipei, but loading gauge restrictions preclude piggyback operations. During typhoon season, small trucks are carried on flatcars when highways are closed by flooding or mudslides.
  In years past, an extensive shipper-owned light railway network (762 mm gauge, never operated by TRA) handled freight services throughout Taiwan and once boasted 1,800 route miles. Largely abandoned today, it served important industries including sugar, logging, coal, salt, and minerals.
  Unlike JR East and Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway, revenues from ancillary businesses accounts for only 17.8% of TRA's revenues. TRA's estimated farebox recovery ratio (including freight operations) is ~40%.
  Staffing costs, pension benefits, capital debt, changing demographics, highway competition, and low fare policies resulted in accumulated deficits nearing US$3.3 billion. Locally considered large and
  problematic, TRA's deficits pale in comparison to those incurred by European and U.S. transit agencies, and Japan National Railways (JNR) prior to its 1987 privatization. Like JNR and U.S. transit authorities, interest payments on long-term debt represents a significant burden for TRA. Planning for TRA's restructuring had been underway since 2000.
  Recent growth in the highway system and increased competit
caption: The TRA purchased six initial sets of Hitachi 8-car 130 km/h tilting trains, based on JR Kyushu's 885- series design, for US$85 million, to provide accelerated East Coast services. They are locally called Taroko Express after the mountain gorge.
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