Three new N700ST high-speed trainsets are scheduled to enter service on Taiwan's high-speed rail network in July next year, the Railway Bureau said, with the first of 12 Japanese-built trains already in static testing after arriving in the country on August 15.

The full order of 12 trainsets, purchased by Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) from Japan, is expected to be in revenue service by the end of 2028. Once complete, the fleet will grow to 46 trainsets and boost peak capacity by up to 25 percent, Railway Bureau director-general Yang Cheng-chun said.

The capacity increase cannot come too soon. Over the recent long weekend combining the Mid-Autumn Festival and Teacher's Day, running from Thursday last week through Monday, the line carried 1,788,815 passengers — including 347,970 on the Thursday alone. Passengers with reserved seats reported crowds heavy enough that some could barely board, and business-class travellers said people from non-reserved cars spilled into their carriages.

The rollout schedule is incremental. Three trainsets in service would raise capacity by only about 6 to 7 percent, Yang said, meaning a significant improvement in crowding may not be felt until all 12 sets are running.

Testing regime and delivery timeline

The first N700ST trainset arrived at the Port of Kaohsiung on August 15, where it was unloaded from a ship and placed onto a trailer. It has since been assembled and is undergoing static testing, to be followed by dynamic testing. Yang said 69 separate tests are required, with testing of the first train expected to be completed by late April next year.

The test programme is a prerequisite for regulatory approval: the trains must clear the suite of tests before the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) will authorise them to enter revenue service.

Deliveries continue in parallel. The second trainset is expected to arrive in Taiwan next month, and the third in January next year, Yang said. That timing aligns with the plan to put the first three trains into service simultaneously in July next year.

The remaining nine trainsets would follow, all entering service by the end of 2028, expanding capacity across the network and improving passenger services, Yang said.

Capacity pressure from holiday demand

The Mid-Autumn weekend figures underline the operational pressure on the 350 km/h line linking Taipei with Kaohsiung. Nearly 1.79 million passengers over five days is a demanding load for a fleet of 34 trainsets, and the crowding reports — reserved-seat passengers struggling to board, non-reserved passengers moving into business-class cars — point to a gap between peak demand and available capacity that the current fleet cannot close.

The incremental math matters for passengers. A 6 to 7 percent capacity gain from the first three trains offers limited relief on the busiest travel days, while the full 25 percent uplift at peak — achieved only when the fleet reaches 46 sets — represents the step change needed to absorb holiday surges like the one just recorded.

For now, the critical path runs through the test programme. If the first N700ST clears all 69 tests by late April and secures MOTC approval on schedule, the July entry into service holds. Any slippage in testing would push the first tangible capacity increase further into 2027, leaving passengers to manage peak-period crowding through the coming year's holiday travel with the existing fleet.

The next milestone falls next month, when the second trainset is due to arrive in Taiwan and join the commissioning queue.