TAIPEI (TVBS News)—Taiwan Railway Corporation (臺灣鐵路公司) will discuss a proposed fare increase in a board meeting on Wednesday (Feb. 5), which aims to boost annual revenue by over NT$4 billion.
The plan suggests an average fare hike of 26.8%, addressing the company's NT$13.79 billion loss in its first year since its establishment on New Year's Day 2024, partly due to low ticket prices.
The Legislative Yuan (立法院) had approved a fare formula with a reasonable return on investment between 3% and 5%. However, the formula has remained unchanged for 30 years.
Taiwan Railway's operations department calculated that the return on investment should not fall below 0.36% to mitigate further operating losses, with the minimum average fare increase set at 26.8%.
If the board approves the fare hike, the proposal will go to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC, 交通部) rate review committee, mainly consisting of external scholars who may make further adjustments.
Once the Executive Yuan (行政院) approves the new fares, system modifications will require one month's public notice before implementation, leaving the exact rollout date uncertain.
