Text by MOOK Travel & Life Net / Chen Guanxin, compiled and reported
This year (2014), the Qingming Festival offers a three-day consecutive holiday. To accommodate travelers’ needs for returning home for tomb-sweeping and leisure travel, Taiwan High-Speed Rail will operate an additional 64 southbound and 38 northbound trains, totaling 102 extra services, over the five-day transport period from Thursday, April 3 to Monday, April 7. In total, 783 train services will be available over the five days, andstarting from midnight on Friday, March 7,passengers can purchase round-trip tickets for the transport period from April 3 to April 7 in advance through 24-hour high-speed rail partner convenience stores, online booking, the “T Express” mobile app, the voice reservation system, or at ticket counters and ticket vending machines at stations during operating hours.
Tickets for Taiwan High-Speed Rail’s Qingming Festival holiday travel period will go on presale at midnight on March 7. (Image provided by Taiwan High-Speed Rail)
Taiwan High-Speed Rail advises that stations will be very crowded during the holiday period. To save precious time, passengers are urged to reserve seats in advance and make full use of the more than 9,800 convenience store ticketing locations, as well as the fast and convenient “T Express” mobile ticketing service, to collect their tickets early. This way, they can proceed directly to board trains upon arrival at the station.
Regarding this year’s Qingming Festival transport plan and discounts, the free-seating service will continue during the transport period. Passengers holding period tickets, return tickets, or EasyCard co-branded cards may enter stations and board trains directly by tapping their cards. Passengers in free seating areas are reminded not to occupy seats with luggage or ride in reserved seating carriages. During the transport period, the “Early Bird Discount” allows passengers to enjoy up to 65%, 80%, or 90% off when purchasing tickets between 8 and 28 days before the departure date; some trains offer at least a 90% discount in addition to the 65% or 80% discounts;Other applicable discounts include the “University Student Discount,” “Standard Class Cardholder Discount,” and “Business Class Limited Upgrade” programs, while non-applicable discounts include the “Off-Peak Weekday Discount,” “Senior Citizen Discount,” “Groups of 30 or More,” and “School Excursion” programs.
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