The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) awarded the Hitachi Toshiba Supreme Consortium (HTSC) a contract for the supply of 12 new generation of high-speed trains (144 cars) based on the N700S train platform.
The consortium comprises Hitachi, Toshiba Corporation and Toshiba Infrastructure Systems and Solutions Corporation. JPY 124 billion (USD 901.6 million) is the value of the contract with the delivery scheduled to begin in 2026.
The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation started operation of high-speed trains in 2007 between Taipei and Kaohsiung, introducing the Japanese Shinkansen system. The new trains will enhance the capacity of passenger services.
The 300 – metre – long train will be put into operation at a maximum speed of 300 km/h. The new high – speed train based on the N700S train platform will be lighter and have better aerodynamic performance compared with the existing 700T. It will be energy efficient by adopting the compact traction system, combining a silicon carbide (SiC) device with a blower-less cooling system. The new train will be equipped with lithium-ion batteries (SCiB) to power the train at low speed in case of power outage.
In Taiwan, many people are already using the reliable high – speed railway, which has provided unparalleled safety and reliability to passengers for more than a decade. It is anticipated that introducing the new rolling stock will encourage even more people to make the modal shift to environmentally friendly high – speed railway.
The train procurement was initially planned to be concluded in 2019 to provide additional capacity, as the THSRC anticipated the increase of passenger numbers. The original plan included the purchase of trains with 16 railcars, but the price would be much higher than the price for a Japanese domestic company. The increased price was due to the modifications the consortium should have made to meet the requirements of THSRC. The new Taiwanese rolling stock (the N700S train) will be similar to the one operated by the Central Japan Railway Company.
In 2022, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation has transported 54.16 million passengers with a traffic of 9,338 million passenger – kilometers.
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