Taiwanese began New Year holiday travel with festive spirits high

Taiwan’s train stations bustled with thousands of people on Thursday travelling to their hometowns with packed bags and gifts to celebrate the island’s most popular holiday, the Lunar New Year.

Huge crowds with high festive spirits gathered in Taipei Main Station. Loaded with numerous suitcases and red bags of gifts, hundreds of travelers boarded trains to southern Kaohsiung, Tainan, and western Taichung cities, which are among the most populated urban centers of the island.

Taiwan Railway Corporation said Wednesday that it will operate 256 additional trains from Feb. 6 to 15 due to the increased travel demand, which is expected to peak on Feb. 12 with 817,000 trips.

Taiwan’s High-Speed Train Corporation also announced 461 additional bullet trains during this holiday season, where between 199,000 to 313,000 passengers are expected to travel each day.

Taipei’s Songshan Airport was also busier than usual, with large numbers of passengers flying mainly to the Taiwanese islands of Kinmen, Penghu, and Nangan. Taoyuan International Airport, the largest in Taiwan, announced 210 additional flights during the festival and advised passengers to arrive early at the airport.