Taiwan Railways

To go beyond the city centre

Word to the wise: Save money and time by purchasing a round-trip ticket.
Taking the train is a quick and inexpensive option for close destinations outside of Taipei, like Pingxi and Jiufen. The largest station is Taipei Main Tain Station. There are four classes of trains: tzuchiang (自強號) (air conditioned express), chuguang (萬光號) (air conditioned but slower than tzuchiang), fuxing (復興號) air conditioned but basic and slow), and pingkuai (平快號) (no air conditioning, very slow and no reserved seats) with ticket pricing based accordingly.

Trains have bathrooms, but don't expect a dining car - at best there will be a roaming snack vendor. Tickets on all classes except pingkuai have a reserved seat, but the ticket can be used on other train departure times on the same route on the same day as an unreserved ticket. Announcements are typically made in Chinese only, but station names are in Chinese and pinyin (the writing system used for the Romanisation of Chinese names).