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Despite its obvious association with Japan, Japan isn’t the only country where you can ride the Shinkansen—colloquially referred to as the “bullet train”—to get around. The same high-speed trains used by JR Central and produced by a consortium of Japanese companies are also used elsewhere in Asia, including in Taiwan. Over the weekend, Taiwan took delivery of the first of 12 brand-new trains, based on the latest Shinkansen, and shipped from Japan via boat.
Each train is composed of 12 railcars, will measure just under 1,000 feet in length, and will travel up to 186 mph, or 300 km/h, according to Railway Pro. This new generation of Shinkansen is designed to be more efficient and operate with less vibration; it also uses lithium-ion backup batteries that allow the train to continue at a reduced speed if power is lost, while keeping the lights on and toilets running.
Taiwan was the first country to borrow Shinkansen tech for its own high-speed rail system 19 years ago. The line runs from Taipei at the north of the island, through the more developed western coast, and terminates at Kaohsiung in the west. It’s a distance of about 210 miles, takes around 90 minutes, and costs less than $50 for a one-way ticket.
New Japanese Trains for Taiwan High Speed Rail System Arrive｜TaiwanPlus News
This new Shinkansen equipment built by Hitachi and Toshiba won’t complete that journey any faster, but it figures to be a major update all the same, adding to the initial fleet that Japan first sold to Taiwan two decades ago.
It took two days for all 12 railcars comprising the first train to be unloaded off their cargo ship. Through the rest of the week, they’ll be transported by road from the port at Kaohsiung to the depot in Yanchao, where they’ll be assembled before hitting the track next summer. If you’re wondering how much an order like this costs, the invoice was about $840 million. Or, you know, 21 first-edition Ferrari Luces.
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Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
