Taipei's rapid transit system is under construction, and a lot of people are already getting "in training". . . .

As the Taipei metropolitan area expands and the number of commuters increases, the Taiwan Railway Administration has reaped the greatest benefits.

"It's thanks to the city's worsening traffic problem," says Chen Feng-nan, director of the administration's Passenger Transportation Division. The rapid increase in the amount of traffic in downtown Taipei and environs over the past few years has caused serious traffic congestion, leading many commuters to switch to the train, which offers large-capacity seating, a fixed schedule of runs and no fear of getting tied up in traffic jams.

Sam Chen, who lives in Shanchia and works in an office on Minchuan E. Rd., is one of the administration's "faithful clients."

Every morning at 7:05 he puts on his tie, picks up his briefcase and heads out the door. It takes him five minutes to walk to the station, just in time to catch the 7:13 train to Taipei. At 7:45 he hops onto a bus enroute to Shihlin.

"Another 10 minutes on the bus and I get to the office, around eight o'clock. It's quicker than driving from Hsintien," Chen says with a smile of self-satisfaction. "I ride the most ordinary form of 'rapid transit' there is."

For Chen Shu-mei, whose office is right next to the station, taking the train is even more convenient.

She began the life of a train commuter three years ago, when she married and moved to Panchiao. And now that she's recently had a baby, she has even more reason to ride the train.

"One time when I took a taxi home for convenience' sake we were stuck in traffic for a whole hour. We just crept along, stopping and starting. I was so sick to my stomach I could hardly stand it," she recalls with lingering trepidation.

She used to be the only one in her company who took the train, but more and more of her coworkers have joined her over the past year. Some of them, who live in Nankang and Hsichih, even ride a motorcycle, a bicycle or the bus for a ways before getting on the train.

"There's no other way. Rush hour on Chunghsiao E. Rd. is just too awful," the new train riders all agree.

Chen Feng-nan, who has worked at the Railway Administration for more than 20 years, regularly observes the passenger situation on trains as part of his job. He began to discover signs of an increase in office workers commuting to work back in 1981. "The increase has really been obvious over the past couple of years, especially along the Keelung--Taipei -- Chungli line," he says.

Citing the local and the diesel express runs from Keelung to Chungli as examples, he says that most of the passengers used to be students, with only a few aunties and uncles left on the train outside the peak hours for students. But over the past two years another morning rush hour has developed, after the crush of students from six to seven o'clock, made up of office workers in suits and matched outfits with newspapers under their arms. As a result, the number of trains running in the area has increased by nearly a third compared with three years ago.

An attendant at a little station along the way whose job used to consist mainly of preventing naughty schoolchildren from playing on the rails and helping the elderly over the tracks says he has recently picked up another chore--helping women find their high heels.

He explains with a smile that passengers have to cross directly over the tracks because the station doesn't have a walkway yet, and so many women who are running after the train catch their heels in the ties, giving him a chance to be a hero and come to the rescue.

Many people became train riders at first because they had no other choice but have fallen in love with this way of commuting since.

Chen Ya-lan, who lives in Wutu, says she has to calculate the time carefully whenever she wants to leave home or come back because there are so few trains at her stop. She thought it was inconvenient at first, but after a while she trained herself to make better use of her time. "My life is more orderly and disciplined now," she says.

And because of the smooth ride, commuting on a train can become a precious time to read, study or listen to music with earphones.

"I always take along a pocketbook to read on the train," says Chen Shu-mei, who usually finds a seat because her commuting time is rather flexible. "Don't look down on just having 10 minutes a day. When you add in the waiting time, I can read a whole book in a few days."

She's planning to move house, and she hopes that she can still live near a train station. "I don't think I could go back to riding the bus to work again," she says making a face.

The Railway Administration has done a lot to win over commuters from buses recently.

To encourage train riders, posters in the Taipei Train Station read, "While they're stuck in traffic, you read the newspaper. They set out before you do, but you get there first." And the administration has come up with various promotional methods to attract commuters as long-term customers, offering a 25 percent discount on 30-day tickets and a 30 percent discount on 90-day tickets, for instance.

"The express train from Panchiao to Taipei costs NT$14 one way, or less than NT$10 with a discount, and it takes just 10 minutes. If you ride the bus, it costs at least NT$20 and takes 40 or 50 minutes." Chen Feng-nan says that consumers who figure it out will naturally join the ranks of train riders.

The administration doesn't have any statistics on exactly how much the commuter population has increased, but everyone is aware that it's happening.

"Just after I moved to Shanchia in May, I used to get a seat every morning," Sam Chen says, pointing out that his success rate during the past three months has slipped to about one third.

The problem is that the ads are working and there are more and more passengers, but the administration is one step behind trying to keep up. Between seven and nine o'clock in the evening, the express is often so crowded that some people simply can't get on.

"Things will improve when all of the 48 commuter cars we're importing get here," says Hsu Chan-hung, in the office of the secretary at the administration, with an apologetic tone.

The 16 cars that the administration purchased from South Africa this October have been a hit with passengers. Specially designed for commuters, with spacious seating and fitted with a dual shock absorbers, they offer a smooth and comfortable ride, sweeping away the glum and cheerless image of the old cars and increasing the willingness of people to ride them.

"This is just a warm-up before the rapid transit era arrives." the administration crows.

And the new Taipei Train Station that opened last year offers spacious roominess and diverse attractions. Passengers waiting for a train can sit down and watch television or go to the second floor to shop or eat a snack, and people who prize efficiency can make use of their time in the station to mail a letter or withdraw money at the post office. All this is a world away from noisy, crowded bus stops.

It seems that train riders, who have got the jump on enjoying the rapid transit system, are really "early birds" in the modern-day big city.

[Picture Caption]

Many nine-to-fivers have switched over to the railroad to get through the "dark ages" of traffic until the mass rapid transit system i s finished.

(Right)Those who don't live near mass rapid transit stops, can ride a bike or scooter to the nearest station and switch to long distance transport. The photo shows a subway station in Tokyo. (photo by Vincent Chang)

Go back to dreamland or read the paper--now that's the way to start another workday!

(Right) In overcrowded cities, rapid transit is the main means of mass transportation. The photo is of Singapore.

The Railway Administration introduced new EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) cars this November to meet the increase in commuters.

(Left) A rapid transit system cuts down the "real time" distance between the city and the suburbs. The photo is of the Chinatown stop on the Chicago underground. (photo by Arthur Cheng)

Railroad commuters give a foretaste of most people's lifestyle once the MRT is running.

（Right）Those who don't live near mass rapid transit stops, can ride a bike or scooter to the nearest station and switch to long distance transport. The photo shows a subway station in Tokyo. （photo by Vincent Chang）

Go back to dreamland or read the paper--now that's the way to start another workday!

（Right） In overcrowded cities, rapid transit is the main means of mass transportation. The photo is of Singapore.

The Railway Administration introduced new EMU （Electric Multiple Unit） cars this November to meet the increase in commuters.

（Left） A rapid transit system cuts down the "real time" distance between the city and the suburbs. The photo is of the Chinatown stop on the Chicago underground. （photo by Arthur Cheng）

Railroad commuters give a foretaste of most people's lifestyle once the MRT is running.