THE first of 50 12-car EMU3000 trains built for Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) by Hitachi arrived at Taiwan’s Hualien port from Japan on July 30.
The first three trains are set to enter service on the island’s East Coast line by the end of this year, followed by another two sets by next year’s Spring Festival.
Testing of the 150km/h 25kV 60Hz trains is set to be overseen by TRA, Hitachi and TÜV Rhienland Taiwan, which will perform independent verification and validation.
Delivery of the trains will continue in batches until 2024 with seven sets due to be delivered this year, 15 in 2022, 16 in 2023 and the remaining 12 in 2024. The new trains will replace 30-year-old eight car sets used on the East Coast Line, offering a much-needed boost in capacity on the route.
TRA placed the $NT 44.3bn ($US 1.59bn) order with Hitachi in January 2019 and the trains are a key element of the 2015-2024 Train Procurement and Renewal Plan. TRA introduced the first of 52 10-car EMUs built by Hyundai Rotem on the Keelung - Miaoli line in April. Hyundai Rotem won a Won 909.8bn ($US 810m) contract to supply the EMUS in June 2018.
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