The central building of Taipei Main Station is a rectangular building in Zhongzheng District with six stories above ground and four stories below ground. The building is 149 m (488 ft 10 in) long and 110 m (360 ft 11 in) wide. The first floor has a large ticketing hall with a skylight and three ground-level exits in each cardinal direction, the second is occupied by restaurants managed by the Breeze group, and all floors above are office spaces. At the B1 level, there are turnstiles for the TR and THSR platforms, along with a myriad of underground passageways for Taipei Bus Station, the Taoyuan Metro station, and Beimen metro station. Zhongshan Metro Mall, Taipei City Mall, Station Front Metro Mall, and Qsquare all connect on this level as well. TRA and THSR each have two island platforms at the B2 level. As for Taipei Metro, the Bannan line's platforms are located at the south of the station building; the entrances are at the B2 level, and the platforms are at B3. The Tamsui-Xinyi line's entrance is directly under the station building at B3, and the platforms are at B4.[14][15][16]
Station layout
6F | 3F
Taiwan Railways Administration offices
Taiwan Railway, Scheduling Control Center TR Employee Rooms YMCA, other private companies (Rented) TRA Auditorium
2F
Retail level
Taipei Station Breeze Center, Food Court (Elevator at East Entrance 2)
Restrooms
L1
Street level
Entrance/Exit TRA/THSR ticketing, automatic ticket machines, tourism counter TRA Information Office, TRA Station Manager Office, railway police TRA information desk, THSR police, THSR military police
TRA Entrance/Exit, Guard
TRA Luggage Office
TRA Parcel Center (Separate structure)
THSR Administration
offices
B1
Concourse
THSR ticketing, TRA/THSR automatic ticketing, ticket gates, waiting area Restrooms
Metro faregates, information desk, lost and found, gallery Restrooms (inside and outside fare zone), Automatic ticket dispensing machines One-way faregates
The floor plan of the first floor of Taipei station, August 2019
TRA platform 3A, October 2018
TRA platform 3B, May 2019
TRA platform 4B, August 2015
A TRA EMU900 series train undergoing a test run at Taipei station, November 2020
THSR ticketing counters, August 2019
THSR platforms, February 2018
Taipei Metro Tamsui-Xinyi Line concourse, April 2020
EasyCard top-up machines at the Taipei Metro concourse
A Taipei Metro sourvenir shop at Taipei Main Station, 2020
An inauguration plaque of the Taipei Metro at Taipei Main Station
A memorial plaque with a demarcation of the record flood levels of Typhoon Nari on Taipei Main Station
Taipei Metro Tamsui-Xinyi Line platforms, August 2019
Taipei Metro Bannan Line platforms, August 2019
HSR services
HSR services 1xx, (1)2xx, (1)3xx, (1)5xx[a], (1)6xx, and (8)8xx call at this station. The first two southbound trains in the day are 803 (stops at all stations) at 06:26 and 203 (Taipei-Banqiao-Taichung-Chiayi-Tainan-Zuoying) at 06:30. Service 203 is the only train of the day that departs from Taipei Station, and does not depart from Nangang station like most southbound trains do. Although Service 203 departs four minutes later after Service 803, passengers traveling to major cities such as Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung will save more time taking Train No. 203, while Train No. 803 would be more suitable for traveling to nearby cities such as Taoyuan or Hsinchu.
Around the station
Taipei Main Station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT is connected to Taipei station via underground passagewaysTaipei City Mall
Taipei station in 1914The old Taipei station in 1948.
The first rail station in Taipei was completed in Twatutia in 1891, during Qing rule, when the railway to Keelung was opened for service.[17][18] Initially, a temporary station was built while a permanent station was constructed in 1897, during Japanese rule (1895–1945). In 1901, the station was located to the east of its current location. It was rebuilt in 1940 to accommodate growing passenger traffic.
To alleviate traffic congestion caused by railroad crossings in downtown Taipei, an underground railway tunnel between Huashan and Wanhua was built along with the present station building as part of the Taipei Railway Underground Project.[19] When the underground system was completed on 2 September 1989, railway service was moved to the newly completed building (completed on 5 September 1989) and the old building as well as a temporary station were demolished.
The current station was further expanded with the opening of the Taipei Metro. The metro station is connected to the basement of the railway station and opened to passenger traffic in 1997 to the Tamsui–Xinyi line. It became a massive transfer hub with the opening of the Bannan Line in 1999. Extensive underground malls now exist at the front and back of the station,[20] which emulate those found in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. The station also became a terminus for Taiwan High Speed Rail trains when the network began service in 2007.
Ongoing developments
Taipei station and the area surrounding it have been undergoing renovation since 2005. Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki was chosen to design two skyscrapers that will surround the railroad station.[21] Maki will also oversee the renovation of Taipei station. The height of the taller tower will be 76 stories, whereas the shorter tower will be 56 stories.[22] The two skyscrapers will be constructed on empty parcels found adjacent to Taipei station, above the Taoyuan Airport MRT station.
The station interior underwent renovation work from February to October 2011.[23] Basement restrooms were renovated, the basement and first floor preparations for additional Breeze Plaza retail space began, the large ticket office in the first floor lobby was removed, and additional retail space was allocated.[23] In addition, the flooring on the first floor was completely replaced, fire and evacuation regulations were improved, and solar panels will be installed on the station roof.[23]