TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan High Speed Rail reported a 4.6% increase in average daily ridership in November, reaching 224,000 passengers, up about 10,000 from the same month last year, per ETtoday.

The company said passenger volumes have surged this year due to a rise in large-scale events in both northern and southern Taiwan, including concerts. As a result, peak weekday ridership has climbed, while weekday travel overall has also increased significantly.

THSR said total ridership from January through November reached 74.66 million passengers, an increase of 3.56 million from 71.1 million during the same period in 2024.

To cope with growing demand ahead of the delivery of new trains, THSR said it plans to slightly increase the number of services next year and optimize schedules to better match passenger demand. Adjustments will focus on routes and stopping patterns with higher ridership, with gradual changes beginning in January.

New-generation N700ST trains are expected to be delivered starting in August next year. THSR said the first trainset is scheduled to roll off the production line in August 2026, arrive in Taiwan via Kaohsiung Port after about two weeks of sea transport, and undergo nearly a year of trial operations before being approved, with passenger service expected to begin in the third quarter of 2027.

THSR said five additional trainsets will be delivered in the first half of 2027, two more in the second half of the year, and four more in the first half of 2028. All 12 new-generation trains are expected to be in service by the end of 2028, boosting peak-hour capacity by 25%. Once fully deployed, the fleet will comprise 46 trains, allowing for operations at a maximum frequency of one train every five minutes.

In response to record-breaking demand during long holidays, THSR said it will again offer off-peak “early bird” discounts during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday. The company previously offered its first-ever early bird discounts of up to 50% during the Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, and Retrocession Day holidays, which it said were effective in encouraging off-peak travel.

THSR said details on the minimum discount level for the upcoming Lunar New Year period are still under discussion and have not yet been finalized.