Transportation

Taiwan’s transport infrastructure is one of the most advanced in the world, including an inner city sky train system and high speed rail.

The Taipei MRT (Metropolitan Rapid Transit) is one of Taiwan’s modern marvels, an inner-city transport grid that rivals those of New York, London and Tokyo. The MRT provides a quick, clean and hassle free way to get around the CBD, with eighty stations located in and around Taipei city, offering comprehensive coverage of the metropolis.

The Taiwan High Speed Rail provides a fast and economical way to travel across the island, while experiencing the best of Taiwanese engineering. An achievement in Taiwanese technological ingenuity, this $15 billion transport system takes travelers from Taipei on the northern tip of Taiwan all the way down the west coast to Kaohsiung on the southern tip of the island. Reaching top speeds of 300km/h, the system is based on its Japanese counterpart and can transport passengers from Taipei to Kaohsiung in just 90 minutes, three hours faster than on a regular train line.

International Flights - Being a major international stopover, flights to and from Taiwan are reliable and frequent. Taiwan has 2 International Airports. Taipei, Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) or C.K.S., formerly known as Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (the principle gateway to Taiwan, is located in the northern part of the island, 40 kilometres southwest of Taipei. Kaohsiung International Airport (KHH) is located in the south western part of the island in Kaohsiung.

Domestic Flights - Domestic air services are well developed in Taiwan, with flights available to and from all of Taiwan’s major cities and smaller islands.There are 17 domestic airports in operation: Taipei Songshan Airport (commonly referred as Songshan Airport or Songshan Domestic), Kaohsiung, Hualien, Taitung, Taichung, Tainan, Pingtung, Hengchun, Chiayi, Magong, Cimei, Lanyu, Green Island, Wangan, Kinmen, Beigan, and Nangan (both on Matsu).

The Taiwan Railway (Taiwan Railway Administration) offers 4 types of passenger train services. The fastest Zihciang (Tzuchiang) express only stops at major stations. The second fastest express with more frequent stops is the Jyuguang (Chukuang) express. The third class of trains, the Fusing (Fuhsing) express stops at every station.

In Alishan (The Ali Mountain in central Taiwan), the alpine railroad – one of only three in the world , stretches 72 kilometres from Chiayi station to Alishan, rising 2258 metres above sea level and cross 79 mountain tunnels.

Local Taxi service is cheap and convenient. But only few taxi drivers speak English.

It is recommended that travellers have their destination written down in Chinese characters and to give to the driver. Outside of the major city, many drivers prefer to negotiate a fare. Tips are not necessary.

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