The Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corporation has awarded an order worth approximately 124 billion Japanese Yen (approx £719m) to the Hitachi Toshiba Supreme Consortium, which is made up of:
- Hitachi Ltd
- Toshiba Corporation
- Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation
The huge contract will see 12 sets of new-generation high-speed trains and will total of 144 cars, built for THSRC and will be based on the latest N700S trains which operate for the Central Japan Railway Company.
The Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corporation has been operating high-speed trains since 2007 with services running between Taipei and Kaohsiung using the Japanese Shinkansen system. The new-generation trains will see capacity increased further for passengers as trains of 300m in length will operate at top speeds of 300km/h.
The new trains will bring many improvements influenced by the N700S trains, such as being lighter, therefore offering enhanced aerodynamic performance than the current 700T trains. The energy efficiency of the new trains will also be greatly improved thanks to using the compact traction system alongside a combined silicon carbide (SiC) device providing a blower-less cooling system. The new trains will be powered by lithium-ion batteries (SCiBTM) when travelling at low speeds or in case of a power outage.
Taiwan has seen a decade of reliable high-speed railway service with an exceptional safety record and this new order is set to improve this impressive performance further alongside making a modal shift in order to support the environment.
The new trains are expected to begin delivery during 2026.
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