New High Speed 700T for Taiwan Unveiled at Rollout Ceremony

 A rollout ceremony for the Taiwan High Speed 700T train was held at Kawasaki’s Hyogo Works on January 30, 2004, hosted by Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation and Taiwan Shinkansen Corporation, a joint venture of seven Japanese companies: Mitsui & Co., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Toshiba Corp., Ltd., Mitsubishi Corp., Marubeni Corp., Sumitomo Corp., and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.

 The 700T is based on the Series 700 Shinkansen, which was codeveloped by Central Japan Railway Company and West Japan Railway Company, and modified to meet the requirements of Taiwan’s geography and topography, related laws and regulations, and other local attributes. The 12-car train is white, with streaks of Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation’s corporate colors, orange and black. The interior is spacious and comfortable.

 Kawasaki has been playing an important role in the Taiwan High Speed Train project as the main contractor for the production of the trains. Export of the finished trains to Taiwan will start in May 2004 and fine-tuning will be done in Taiwan. At the end of the third quarter of this year, test runs are scheduled to begin on a test track in southern Taiwan.