Taipei: Despite implementing a fare increase in June, Taiwan Railway Corp. has reported a 1.4% rise in average daily passenger volume from June to December compared to the previous year.
According to Focus Taiwan, the state-owned company announced that the number of average daily passengers between June 23 and December 19 was 652,000, marking an increase of approximately 10,000 passengers from the same period last year. This growth occurred alongside a rise in ticket revenue, which increased by NT$14.11 million (US$449,044), or 28%, reaching NT$64.44 million. The fare hike, which was the first in 30 years and amounted to a 26.8% increase, was part of an effort to address operating deficits.
Looking ahead, Taiwan Railway projects ticket sales for 2025 to increase by NT$2.6 billion from the previous year. The company also forecasts a 2.9% rise in average daily passenger volume to nearly 670,000. In collaboration with the government, Taiwan Railway has been promoting the regional TPass monthly package, resulting in a 26.3% increase in average daily passenger volume under this program to 185,000 from January 1 to December 19.
Since its transformation from the Taiwan Railways Administration into a corporation in January 2024, Taiwan Railway has been working to enhance its brand value by partnering with the tourism industry to offer a variety of railway tour packages. In the first 11 months of this year, the company's railway tourism operations generated about NT$100 million in revenue, a 15.12% increase from the previous year, with expectations for sales in 2025 to surpass NT$120 million.
The company has also focused on improving safety, punctuality, and convenience for passengers. From January to October, the company's on-time rate was 94.24%, rising to 97.5% in November, meeting the company's target. Additionally, there were two major accidents from January to November, down from four the previous year, while general accidents decreased by three to 38, and the number of driving irregularities dropped by 88 to 759.