Have you ever experienced a ride at 186 mph?

Have you drive at the speed of 186mph? Well, don’t even try. Now you can enjoy but not by driving, instead, by riding a state of art Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) system. Back in 1990s, Taiwanese government passed a law that paved way for BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer). In October, 1996, the THSR BOT project began. Nearly a decade after, this 18-billion-dollar project was completed and began its service on January 5, 2007. THSR uses 700T, an updated version of Japanese Shinkansen 700 Series system. Its top speed is over 250 mph. Normal operation speed is set at 186 mph.

At the beginning of the operation, THSR suffered with the high operation cost, high maintenance and low ridership. After several years of red ink, and skyrocket debt, the ridership has grown up to over 110,000 passengers a day in 2011.

Now, we can try this fast riding experience as well. On May 18, we will take THSR from Taipei to Taichung, a 90 mile journey that will only take less than 30 minutes. Curious? Excited? Come join us.

Visit date: May 17, 2013, Friday

THSR web site:
http://www.thsrc.com.tw/en/?lc=en

GPS:
Taipei Station: 25^O 02’ 52.66” N 121^O 31’ 01.48” E 
Taichung Station: 24^O 06’ 42.54” E; 120^O 36’ 55.89” E

"Taiwan Ecology and Culture Study Tour" is part of the "Ecology and Culture of Asia" course at North Park University. It is open to all North Parkers regardless registering for the course not.