High Speed Rail

It has been more than two years since my last visit to Taiwan.

After checking through the immigration, I found the Koahsiung airport deserted and emptied of peoples. The airport that I know was bustling with peoples.

I have missed something. Yes. I wasn't here to witness the death of the domestic aviation industry.

The following day, I boarded the High Speed Rail from Zuoying (Kaohsiung) to Taipei. The ticketing counter was efficient and helpful. The boarding was fast without any security check required elsewhere including that of the mainland.

The train is new and the service is, in my view, more user friendly than the KCR (Kowloon-Canton Railway plying between Guangzhou and Hong Kong). There were useful leaflet in the seat pocket giving traveller information. The food on offer appears to be more palatable (I didn't sample). The washroom is cleaner and there is also several installation of vending machines for snack and drinks.

The speed was fast and took me just 43 minutes reaching Taichung. Travelling all the way to Taipei takes under 2 hours. In the past, it took more than 2 hours by road from Kaohsiung to Taichung and a total of between 5 to 6 hour to reach Taipei. What a speedy progress!

The only complaint is that the seat is a little too narrow but it is entirely my fault. My waist line has expanded.

The overall experience with the High Speed Rail is very comfortable and convenient. This is one single most impressive transformation I see in Taiwan since my very first visit in 2000.

On the aviation industry, it is truly an account of the rise and fall of an industry. The death of domestic aviation sees the birth of a high speed rail. Rather, it should be said the other way around, the birth of high speed rail kills the aviation.

It is also noticed that there is also corresponding decline of road transports using the highway easing the burden of the highway that was frequently congested in the past.

The question of whether or not the airport and aviation industry in Taiwan could revive, it will now all depend on the successful implementation of the big three links that becomes official just weeks ago. At the moment, there are still not too many visitors from the mainland.

As for me, it's good to be back to Taiwan to feel her pulse and seeing her in a faster and greener mode.

The next post will give an account of political sentiment on the Ma's Administration.