After 7 weeks of doing our medical electives in Taiwan, we finally had to go home on 3rd March which was a Friday. It wasn't my first time to Taiwan so I was quite familiar with the public transportation there. Previously when we had to travel from the airport to Taipei City (or vice versa), we can either take the airport taxi or the buses which are my primary choice since it is the cheapest option. When I first arrived in Taiwan, I took the Kuo Kuang bus which cost NT 125 per person for a one way trip. When you take buses, the trip will definitely be slower compared to taxis and subjected to the traffic condition's on that day. Usually the time taken will be about 45-50 mins to reach Taipei Main Station. Fortunately for me, about 2 weeks into my electives I heard news that the Taoyuan Airport MRT which has been in construction for nearly 20 years will finally be opened for public use. Needless to say, I was excited to try it out!
On the day of our departure, we took the metro to Taipei Main Station and scanned our cards to exit the station. Bear in mind, the platforms where you board the blue/red line is NOT where you take the Airport MRT. It is just not connected inside there. You need to scan your Easycards/insert your token to exit the platform first before you walk to the Airport MRT.
Once you exit the Red/Blue line platforms, look at the signs which direct you to "Airport MRT" or you can head to M1 exit.
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As you can see, below the M1 sign there is another sign directing you to the
airport MRT. Do not exit here, just follow the directions and walk straight left. |
As you continue walking, you will see many more signs along the way. But sometimes, it is quite confusing as some of the signs are covered by the on-going constructions.
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Taadaa! This is finally the entrance to the new Airport MRT!
The pathways after this are brightly lit and very spacious. |
One thing good that I realized was that they made the pathways very smooth and flat. No steps other than escalators. So people like me who had to drag along super-size luggage bags find it easier to manoeuvre even if I am alone.
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| Welcome! |
Another cool thing that we discovered was that they have in-town check in which means you can check-in at the check-in counters before boarding the MRT. How cool is that? That means we don't need to drag along our luggages with us onboard the MRT!
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| Just follow the signs! |
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| You can do self check-in to get your boarding pass. |
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See all these new check-in counters. Currently, in-town check in services are
only available for Eva Airways and China Airlines. |
Unfortunately, I was taking AirAsia so I could not try out the new in-town check in services. Maybe they will improve their services in the future and provide in-town check in for more airlines in the future. Hoping for that day! ☺
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| Head to the purple machines and purchase a token! |
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| Cute purple token! Everything is still very new. |
For us, we had half price discounts as we were travelling in between March 1-March 31. We paid NT 80 for one person/one way. Starting from April 1 onwards, I think it has been announced that passengers will have to pay the full fare which is NT 160 to both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at Taoyuan Airport.
There are two types of trains under the Taoyuan Airport MRT line. There is the commuter train which stops on every stop on the line, and also the Express train which only stops in 5 stops along the line. If you plan to go to the airport, it is always better to take the Express train as you can save more time. You can check out the full fares below:
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Commuter train stops: blue and purple color
Express train stops: purple color only
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Both the commuter trains and the express trains are very frequent. You will get one train every 15 minutes so you don't have to worry about missing the train. Just in case you want to refer to their train timetable and match with your flight itinerary, you can access the train timetables
here.
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It is quite easy to distinguish between express and commuter trains as they have
labelled the train as such. Anyway, express trains have purple lining on the body,
while the commuter ones have blue lining on the body. |
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There are places to put your luggage separately inside the train. For larger luggage,
you can slot it in the lower compartment. |
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| For smaller hand carry, it is easier to put them at the upper compartment. |
So off we go! It takes about 40 minutes to reach the Airport terminals from Taipei Main Station. It is evidently faster than taking bus or taxi. The seats inside the Express trains are also very comfortable. There are also monitor screens that shows the Arrival and Departure information of the latest flights to update passengers on their flight info. So, you will know if your flight has been delayed or cancelled! Depending on which terminal your airline departs from, just alight when you reach that station and you're good to go! So convenient right?
Feel free to ask me if you have questions. If I know the answers, I'll try my best to solve your query.
