One of Taiwan's most eagerly-awaited national infrastructure projects, the Taiwan High Speed Rail system began operations on January 5, 2007. This enormous undertaking--one of the largest high speed rail and privately built/managed BOT (build-operate-transfer) projects in the world--is based on the Japanese "Shinkansen" high-speed rail system, better known to Westerners as the "bullet train", and travels up to 300 km/h (185 mph) along a 345-kilometer route. This reduces the journey between Taipei and Kaohsiung, once four to five hours long, to a mere 90 minutes, with the time between Taichung and either of these two cities now about an hour or less.

The high-frequency trains currently serve modern, specially-built HSR stations in Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan and Tsoying (Kaohsiung). Plans call for an additional four stations to be added between 2012 and 2015.

The HSR has had a significant impact on Taichung city and central Taiwan, allowing easy business commutes and leisure travel connections up and down the western coast. This includes much-faster links to high-tech centers in Taipei, Hsinchu and Tainan, and the Taoyuan International Airport. The new rail system has also further boosted Taichung's enormous popularity with northern Taipei residents as a destination for business, shopping, dining and entertainment.

Taichung's ultra-modern, attractive HSR station--the largest in the entire system--is located in Taichung city's southern Wurih district, bordering Changhua county, and is conveniently connected to the ZhongZhang (Taichung-Changhua) Rt. 74 provincial expressway and national Freeway No. 3. City plans also call for the development of adjacent shopping and entertainment facilities and areas.