Lugging our backpacks, we set off eagerly from Bobbie&David's house and walked to the nearby Wanhua Train Station （万华火车站） to catch a train to Taichung. Our enthusiasm was briefly disrupted when the ticketing officer over the counter told us there was no service to Taichung from this station. He directed us to Banqiao Station （板桥火车站) instead.
Not exactly sure how far away Banqiao Station is, we hopped into a cab and reached in under 5 minutes! Banqiao Station is like an interchange station where commuters can take the MRT, TRA or HSR. Wanting to save time, we bought tickets for the next Tzu-Chiang limited express train （自强), which is faster but pricier than the Chu-Kuang train, bound for Taichung. We paid NT359 for each ticket (with allocated seating).
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| line of taxis outside Banqiao Station |
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| TRA Ticketing counters at Banqiao Station |
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| Our train pulled into station on time at 10:35am |
The journey was comfortable with few stops. No great scenery along the way except a brief sighting of the Taiwan Straits before we turned into the mountain route. Western Line trains that traverse between Keelung (in the north) and Pingtung (in the south) have two different routes midway - mountain route or ocean route. Taichung station comes under the mountain route, which in my opinion is less scenic.
At 12:50pm, we pulled into Taichung Station. I was glad to say goodbye to the elderly man sitting next to us on the train, who couldn't stop sharing (or boasting about) his life stories. Before stepping off the train, he gave us his business card (highlighting to us AGAIN his high post at the local news agency) and promised to bring us to dinner when we return to Taipei where his office is. We thanked him for his hospitality. But I was pretty sure we won't be needing that business card.
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| Taichung Station is quite photogenic for its many displays |
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| Archaic yet charismatic Taichung Station |
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