A public design movement at Taiwan Railways Administration is adding a contemporary look to the country’s train network.
Last December marked the inaugural journey of Taiwan’s EMU3000 intercity express connecting Taipei City to counties on the east coast. Operated by Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), the service runs along the Pacific coastline and picturesque East Rift Valley and features a business class section as well as 40 percent more seats than other express lines. The new trains are part of the TRA’s ongoing infrastructure upgrades, which include double-tracking and electrifying lines. Replacing trains with improved models like the EMU3000 helps ensure passenger comfort and safety, said TRA Director-General Tu Wei (杜微), who attended the launch ceremony in the southeastern county of Taitung.
The EMU3000 also offers a sleek, modern look. Centering on the concept of “silent flow,” the train won a Japan-based Good Design Best 100 award last year for its understated elegance. The honor follows the TRA’s formation of a design advisory commission comprising designers, experts and scholars in 2019. The group marked a major change in how the TRA incorporates aesthetics into projects, emphasizing the need to strike a better balance between visual appeal and practicality during the planning process. New ideas introduced by the commission are intended to strengthen the organization’s focus on user experience, according to the TRA.
Fresh Image
In the past, top TRA administrators were largely responsible for making final design choices, which did not always receive positive public feedback. “Aesthetic values are not simply a matter of personal preference. There’s a set of professional standards to follow,” said Hung Chih-wen (洪致文), one of the advisory group members. The professor from Taipei-based National Taiwan Normal University served as head of the National Railway Museum’s preparatory office in the capital from 2019 to 2021. According to Hung, while a rail system is by default utilitarian in purpose, design elements can greatly enhance traveler impressions.
Xincheng Taroko Station in eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County is revamped as part of ongoing TRA efforts to upgrade railway facilities in the region. (Photos courtesy of TRA)
Railway Cultural Society (RCS), Taiwan Chairman Liu You-wei (劉宥緯) lauds the TRA’s ongoing reform efforts. The group, established in 1995, traces its origin to a rail fan club formed in the late 1980s at today’s National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in northern Taiwan’s Hsinchu City and is now based in the central metropolis of Taichung. Liu cited as an example the TRA’s unprecedented move to send 20 staff members newly recruited for the EMU3000 route to the flight attendant training center at China Airlines. in the northern city of Taoyuan. This will ensure business class passengers receive the best possible service, he added.
RCS members often take part in TRA-organized assessment rides on new trains like EMU3000 and EMU900, a commuter line launched in April 2021, as well as refurbished sightseeing trains like the Future Express, which won a 2020 Good Design Award. “Our evaluation puts greater emphasis on how the interior design of carriages can help create a pleasant experience,” Liu said, adding that the TRA’s new and remodeled railcars introduced in recent years are helping forge a new perception of train travel among the public in Taiwan.
Structure Renewal
Hsinchu City’s historical main station in northern Taiwan boasts simplified aesthetics after undergoing a minimalist redesign. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
A growing number of newly constructed or renovated TRA stations around the country are also contributing to the reinvigorated image of the more than century-old network. Among the latest projects is the renewal of Hsinchu Station as part of the 2020 edition of the annual Taiwan Design Expo organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Bureau. Built during Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945), the station saw redundant signs and fixtures removed, its indicator system reinstalled and a simplified ceiling pattern put in to create a clean, well-lit space. The minimalist design aims to draw people’s attention to the building’s history so they can get a firsthand taste of the country’s rich cultural legacy, according to the TRA. The same approach is being taken with the original main station in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi City.
The preserved former main train station in central Taiwan’s Taichung City stands next to the new facility. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Over the years other Japanese-era TRA facilities have given way to new constructions like today’s Taichung Station, which opened in 2016 as part of an elevated train line project. Standing intact next to it, the former depot is a cultural asset with a key role to play in the revitalized historical center of Taichung, a city that emerged in the early 20th century alongside the completion of the railway on Taiwan’s populous western plains. A section of track is preserved around the old station, and the area links to a number of nearby century-old structures and green spaces via bicycle and pedestrian paths. The Japanese-built station in the southern port city of Kaohsiung has been similarly preserved and continues to offer visitors a window into the past.
New facilities at Fuli, Hualien and Chishang Stations in Hualien and the southeastern county of Taitung are contributing to the reinvigorated image of the more than century-old train network. (Photos courtesy of TRA)
Such urban regeneration efforts are carried out in coordination with local and central government agencies like the MOTC’s Railway Bureau, which is responsible for constructing new tracks and stations. The bureau also played a large role in the TRA’s campaign to upgrade railway facilities in the eastern counties of Taitung and Hualien during the 2010s. A total of 29 stations were overhauled under the project, and its spirit continues to guide ongoing work on Ruifang and Shifen Stations in New Taipei City.
Modern Model
While the TRA network has a strong nostalgic appeal among locals, it also faces competition from newer public transport options like the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR). Launched in 2007, the 350-kilometer line connects Taipei to Kaohsiung, with extensions northeast to Yilan County and south to Pingtung County in the works. TRA officials are looking to the THSR system, noted for its streamlined look, as an inspiration for future design decisions.
While THSR stations all follow a standard visual scheme, the layout, signage and interior decor of TRA facilities can be inconsistent, Hung said, adding that the difference can be seen clearly when changing from the THSR’s orderly Zuoying Station to the TRA’s less cohesive New Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung. “Visitors who change trains there may feel like they’re transiting between two different worlds within the same transport hub,” Hung said. However, the professor believes the point of an aesthetic reform is not for one to mimic the other. “There isn’t an absolute standard to follow,” he explained. “But there’s a need to clearly define one’s mission and make corresponding design choices.”
The TRA is also drawing ideas from expanding urban Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) systems. Currently, Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung all boast smartly designed metros, and a line in the southern city of Tainan is currently in the planning phase. MRT, THSR and TRA networks should be seamlessly integrated to boost public transport connectivity and better meet the needs of commuters and tourists, Liu said, adding that this is a key component of national and regional development strategies. “With its long-established routes joining metropolitan areas across the country, the TRA has much to offer as it strengthens its inner- and intercity services,” he said. “At the same time, its redesign campaign is shaping a new cultural brand the people of Taiwan can be proud to call their own.”
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw