Every holiday and summer weekend, booking Taiwan Railway (TRA) train tickets is especially tough.
It’s even harder for the Hualien–Taitung area, where tickets sell out almost instantly in peak season. Anyone who misses out ends up thinking: “Where do all these people booking tickets come from?” and “Who grabbed all the tickets?” So, are there any tricks to booking TRA train tickets??!!
Photo: TRA official booking website
Here are our tips for booking TRA tickets. They really work, so take your time and read on!
In this guide to booking TRA train tickets, you’ll learn:
1. Looking up train numbers: Train numbers matter more than you’d think before you book. How do you look them up?
2. Booking-time strategy: When does booking open? And what about long weekends?
3. Booking tips: Want to get your ticket faster? Just follow along!
4. Split booking: If your clicking speed isn’t the fastest, how can split booking help?
5. Special tickets: What are they, and which day can you buy them?
1. Look up train information in advance
TRA offers two ways to book: “by train number” and “by train type.” Start at the TRA timetable search and find the details of the train you want to take.
Why? Because when you book, it saves you one search step. While everyone else is waiting for train-type search results, you can already be locking in your seat — which really matters for the hard-to-get Hualien and Taitung trains.
Further reading: Hualien car rental guide, Taitung car rental guide
2. Work out exactly when booking opens
[Updated 2022.5.4]
With TRA online booking, you can reserve trains up to 28 days ahead — but count the days correctly!
For example: tickets for Wednesday, 2022/9/7 go on sale at 2022/8/10 00:00. If you count it as 2022/8/9 00:00, you definitely won’t get a ticket.
※ Tip:
Every Friday at 00:00, you can buy tickets for trains 29 and 30 days out
For example, tickets for Sunday, 2022/9/11 would normally go on sale on Saturday, 2020/08/13, but you can actually grab them on Friday, 2020/8/12!
On top of that, pay close attention to when booking opens for long holiday weekends!
| 2022 long weekends: TRA booking open dates | ||
| Holiday | Booking opens | Travel dates available |
| New Year’s Day | 2021/12/2 (Thu) midnight | 2021/12/31 (Fri)– 2022/1/3 (Sun) |
| Lunar New Year | 2021/12/30 (Thu) midnight | 2022/1/29 (Sat)– 2022/2/7 (Mon) |
| 228 Memorial Day weekend | 2022/1/28 (Fri) midnight | 2022/2/25 (Sat)– 2022/3/1 (Tue) |
| Tomb Sweeping Day | 2022/3/4 (Fri) midnight | 2022/4/1 (Fri)– 2022/4/6 (Wed) |
| Mother’s Day | 2022/4/15 (Fri) midnight | 2022/5/14 (Sat)– 2022/5/16 (Mon) |
| Dragon Boat Festival | 2022/5/5 (Thu) midnight | 2022/6/2 (Thu)– 2022/6/6 (Mon) |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | 2022/8/11 (Fri) midnight | 2022/9/8 (Thu)– 2022/9/12 (Mon) |
| National Day | 2022/9/9 (Fri) midnight | 2022/10/7 (Fri)– 2022/10/11 (Tue) |
※ Note: This table is our own estimate; please follow the official TRA holiday transport plan announcements for the actual dates.
3. Get ready early and open multiple windows
Booking on your phone is convenient, but when tickets are this competitive, more “clones” are better. We suggest opening the TRA train booking page 3–5 minutes early, opening several windows and filling in your details, train number and time in advance, then dialing 117 for the time signal so you’re ready to go.
If the booking process is taking too long, switch to the next window right away. If you just refresh, the tickets will be gone by the time the page loads.
※ Note: One person can book up to 6 tickets at a time, so work out in advance how many people you need on ticket duty.
4. Split booking
※ Tip: Book in segments for a second shot
For example, take Hualien train tickets: if you don’t get a Taipei → Hualien ticket right away, don’t give up — try this trick! Book Taipei → Luodong + Luodong → Hualien. The key is to grab Luodong → Hualien first, since you can still get from Taipei to Luodong by intercity bus or other means and keep your trip on track.
5. Special tickets go on sale three days before departure
※ Note: Puyuma Express trains only
Puyuma Express trains have “regular seats” and “table seats.” Table seats must be booked four tickets at a time, so some often go unsold.
That’s why, three days before departure, they open up for individual purchase and you can book table seats for 1 or 2 people. The only downside is sitting with strangers — no big deal, get on board first and sort out the seating later.
Congrats on getting your tickets! Next up: sorting out your rental car.
Read more >>
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This article was translated by AI from the original Chinese version.
