Taipei ⇄ Taichung train price
The corridor where booking ahead flips the answer: at the window TRA is cheaper, with a 35% early-bird ticket THSR undercuts the express and saves about an hour.
Fares — every class, both systems
One-way, per adult, NT$. Verified on 2026-11-13; every number traces to a claim in our fact sheet.
| Ticket | Fare |
|---|---|
| THSR — Standard reserved | NT$700 |
| THSR — Non-reserved 自由座 stand if full | NT$675 |
| THSR — Business | NT$1,250 |
| THSR — Early-bird 35% tier booked ahead | NT$455 |
| THSR — Early-bird 20% tier | NT$560 |
| THSR — Early-bird 10% tier | NT$630 |
| TRA — 自強 Tze-Chiang express | NT$500 |
| TRA — 莒光 Chu-Kuang | NT$387 |
| TRA — 區間車 local no reservation · IC card | NT$323 |
TC-1 (high) · TC-2 (high) · TC-3 (high) · TC-4 (high) · TC-5 (med) · TC-6 (med)
TC-5 (med)
Journey times — what we can and can't say yet
We print timings only from verified sources: government figures, THSR's own published schedule, or labelled estimates from named secondary sources. Everything else stays unpublished.
| THSR — fastestestimate | fastest ~47 min (secondary source) · 47 min |
| THSR — observed serviceobserved | observed all-stop 66 min (train 8815, Taipei 08:31 → Taichung 09:37) · 66 min |
| TRA 自強 — fastestestimate | 自強 fastest direct/semi-direct ≈1h38–1h50 · 98 min |
| TRA 自強 — typicalrange | 自強 typical 2h11–2h20 · 131 min |
To be confirmed · OPEN-2To be confirmed · OPEN-6To be confirmed · OPEN-10
Which one should you book?
Verdict — Taipei ⇄ Taichung
- At standard fares TRA 自強 (NT$500) is NT$200 cheaper than THSR (NT$700)
- Book the 35% early-bird and THSR (NT$455) undercuts TRA (NT$500)
- THSR saves roughly an hour against the typical 自強 run
Run the numbers yourself with the fare finder — including the early-bird tiers that can flip this corridor. Booking mechanics: THSR guide · TRA guide.
Live train lists for this corridor on Trip.com: check Taipei ⇄ Taichung departures ↗ [partner link]