Section 1 General Principles
Article 1- The businesses of passenger service related to the different lines of Alishan Forest Railways under the charge of the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, Ministry of Agriculture
(hereinafter referred to as the Office) and matters for the rights and obligations of passengers and the Office shall be dealt with according to the Contract.
Article 2- The Contract and important information such as the station's business hours, fares, miscellaneous fees, train timetable and various usage instructions are posted on the official website and the conspicuous places of each station for passengers to check.
Article 3- The terms used in this contract are defined as follows:
1. Tickets: Refer to various train tickets and rail passes.
2. Mileage: Refers to the mileage of the operating mileage for passenger service provided by the Office.
3. Train: Refers to the train that carries passengers.
4. Ticket Inspectors: Refer to the train conductor and the person who checks that passengers on a train etc. have a valid ticket, and marks it so that it cannot be used again.
5. The start of travel: Refers to the time point when the passengers enter the platform after showing their tickets for check or the passengers are arriving at a staffless station.
6. Section already traveled: Refers to the section from the passenger's departure station to the nearest stop ahead of the train.
7. Dangerous goods: Classes of dangerous goods as defined in Article 24 of the Railway Transport Rules: (1) Explosives (2) Compressed gases,liquefied gases or gases dissolved under pressure (3) Flammable liquids (4) Flammable solids, spontaneously combustible substances,substances that emit flammable gases in contact with water (5)oxidizing agents and organic peroxides (6) toxic substances and infectious substances (7) radioactive substances (8) corrosive substances (9) miscellaneous dangerous substances.
Section 2 Business hours
Article 1- Station business hours: Services are provided according to the announcement of the business hours of each station.
Article 2- Online ticket booking hours: 06:00～24:00
Article 3- The tickets booked online shall be collected within the business hours of each station.
Section 3 Establishment, cancellation and termination of the passenger service contract
Article 1- The passenger service contract is established after a passenger has made a request for a seat reservation and buying a ticket and the Office has promised to transport the passenger by providing the seat reservation code, giving the ticket or relevant voucher.
Article 2- The Office may refuse to transport the passenger, cancel or terminate the contract in any of the following circumstances:
1. Passengers violate the provisions of this contract, other laws or regulations, public order or good morals.
2. Passengers make a request for the Office's special responsibilities or obligations for the transport.
3. Passengers wearing stinky clothing or carrying unclean items affect public health.
4. Force majeure such as act of god and incidents cause the failure of transport.
5. Passengers who obviously tend to harm themselves or others, or have 3 harassed others.
6. Passengers who need to be escorted travel without escorts.
7. The Office does not have the facility or equipment, excluding those that shall be set up stipulated by laws, required for transporting the passenger.
8. The articles carried by passengers are probably harmful to people or property.
Section 4 Regulations on types of tickets, sale and use of tickets
Article 1- Types and validity periods of tickets
1. Types of tickets: ordinary tickets, group tickets and special train tickets.
A. Ordinary tickets: They are sold according to the type of train passengers take.
When a passenger buys a ticket on a train, the conductor fills in a blank ticket and sells it to the passenger.
Passengers who use lower class train tickets to take a higher class train shall buy fare-added tickets.
B. Group tickets: A group of ten of more passengers taking a train with the same purpose of travel from the same departure station to the same destination station can buy group tickets. However, if a group taking a train from different departure stations to different destination stations also can buy group tickets if they are willing to pay the fare of the tickets for longest travel distance.
C. Special trains: When a group of passengers would like to charter a passenger train for travelling, they can apply for chartering a special train with the Office.
If the Office must dispatch carriages or reserve seats in advance for the application mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the Office may collect the fare in advance, and charges the handling fee according to the "Alishan Forest Railway Special Train Application Regulations" when the contract is cancelled. The application regulations on the special train will be announced and implemented separately.
2. The fare collection criteria for different types of tickets:
A. The regular tickets of ordinary tickets are charged in full fare, and child tickets and tickets for the elderly and the disabled are charged in half fare.
B. Provisions for preferential tickets for children, the elderly and the physically and mentally handicapped:
a. Children not taller than 115 cm or children taller than 115 cm but younger than 6 years old with proof of identity accompanied by an adult (paying or with a free ticket) travel free, but cannot have seats. If more than 2 children who travel free are accompanied by an adult, only two of them travel free and the other children travel half fare.
b. Children taller than 115 cm and not taller than 150 cm or 150 cm or more tall but aged under 12 with proof of ID shall buy children tickets and travel half fare.
c. Citizens aged 65 and above presenting the proof of identity travel half fare. The Office may register their names and identity card numbers to apply for relevant subsidy.
d. Persons with physical and mental disabilities travel half fare on the basis of the physical and mental impairment certificate or manual issued by the competent authority of our country; for those who must be accompanied by an adult according to related assessment, the latter also travels half fare. The Office may register their names and identity card numbers to apply for relevant subsidy.
e. Passengers can choose only of the options mentioned in the preceding paragraphs to travel free or half fare.
C. The types and fares of group tickets are provided as follows:
a. There are two types of group tickets, reserved seated group tickets and non-reserved seat group tickets. The fares are collected according to the "Table of Alishan Forest Railway Passenger Fares and Transportation and Miscellaneous Fees".
b. When an elementary school children group travels, the fare of children group is collected.
c. The fares of group tickets are calculated by multiplying the fare per passenger by the total number of passengers. Due to the limitation of transportation capacity, when a group of passengers is transported in batches, the fare shall be calculated based on the total number of people.
d. The station selling the tickets to group passengers shall fill out a group ticket and give it to the representative of the group and a group certificate to each member of the group. However, when a group travels by a special train, the group certificate is not needed.
D. The fare, miscellaneous fees and other transportation costs are calculated and collected according to the "Table of Alishan Forest Railway Passenger Fares and Transportation and Miscellaneous Fees".
3. Validity periods of tickets:
A. Ordinary tickets: reserved seat tickets are valid for the specified date and the train as stated on the tickets. Non-reserved seat tickets are valid for the specified date as stated on the tickets.
B. Group tickets or special train tickets: agreed at the time of sale.
4. Passengers who missed their trains will be allowed to take the next train of the same or lower class on the same day, and the refund application shall not be accepted.。
5. During the validity period the ticket, the passenger may get off at any station in the section between the departure station and the destination station recorded on the ticket. However, if the passenger gets off halfway in any one of the following circumstances, the remaining part of the original journey is regarded as invalid
A. The station at which passenger gets off the train is the same as the destination station recorded on the ticket.
B. The ticket the passenger has bought is a train-specific ticket.
If the fare that shall be collected for the distance the passenger getting off halfway has traveled exceeds the fare paid for the original ticket, the Office may collect the fare difference.
Besides the exceptions, the passengers getting off halfway may resume their travel by train during the valid period of the ticket. For those who fail to resume their travel, the fare of ticket for the remaining journey is not refundable
6. The tickets presented by passengers in any of the following circumstances shall be deemed invalid and shall be recovered.
A. The validity period or the departure station and destination station recorded on the ticket is unclear and unreadable because it is dirty and torn.
B. The items printed or written on the ticket have been changed or altered.
C. Passengers who do not follow the restrictions on the use of passenger tickets.
Article 2- Ways to buy tickets
1. The reserved seat tickets can be booked from 1 day to 15 days (including the day the train is operated) before the train is operated (e.g., On a Monday the reserved seat tickets of the trains operated from the Monday to the Monday two weeks later can be booked.) On a Friday the reserved seat tickets of trains operated from the Friday to the Friday, the Saturday, and the Sunday two weeks later can be booked.
2. The non-reserved seat tickets, except for the Zhushan line, are available for sale at the station ticketing windows on the day the train is operated and booking is not accepted. As for the Zhushan line, tourists can buy the tickets of the sunrise-seeing train operated the next day at Chiayi Station ticking windows, Beimen Station, Fenqihu Station and Alishan Station (12:30-16:30) of Alishan Forest Railway.
3. When the transportation is obstructed by special circumstances or accidents happening to stations or trains, the Office must take measures such as stopping the sale of tickets at certain stations and the sale of tickets for certain section, shortening the business hours for the sale of tickets, reducing the number of tickets for sale, or stopping the sale of all tickets and adjusting the stations at which the train is supposed to stop. The relevant stations shall make an announcement or notify passengers.
Article 3- Passengers who do not have a ticket or who use invalid or non-applicable passenger tickets to take a train shall be treated according to the following regulations:
1. A passenger who has no ticket or use an invalid ticket to travel by train shall pay the fare or the fare difference. The passenger without a valid reason may be fined 50% of the fare or the fare difference for the section he/she has traveled.
2. Passengers who use lower class train tickets to take a higher class train shall pay the fare difference for the section they have traveled. Passengers use higher class train tickets to take a lower class train shall not be refunded the fare difference.
3. Passengers traveling beyond their original destination station as recorded on their tickets on purpose shall actively pay the fare for the extra section they have traveled to the crew. If not, they shall pay both the fare for the extra section they have traveled and 50% of the fare in 8 fine when the train conductor or inspector found what they have done.
Section 5 Take another train or refund the ticket
Article 1 After their trip begins, passengers are not allowed to take another train or refund their tickets, except as provided in the relevant laws and regulations and the Contract.
Article 2 Before their trip begins, passengers who want to take another train can apply for a change of ticket once or refund the ticket as described as follows:
1. Take another train
Any passenger holding an unchecked ticket may, with the consent of the Office, have the ticket changed to another one with different boarding date, train number or train type according to the following provisions. The first change is free of charge, but the second one shall be charged according to the provisions for refund.
A. Passengers with designated train tickets who want to take another train shall apply for the change of their tickets at least 60 minutes before the train departs.
B. Passengers with non-designated train tickets who want to take another train shall apply for the change of their tickets within the validity period of the ticket. Passengers with preferential tickets other than those legalized who want to take another train apply for the change of their tickets according to the related instructions for use.
2. Refund the ticket
The passenger with unchecked ticket may refund the ticket during its validity period according to the following regulations:
A. Designated train tickets shall be refunded at latest 30 minutes before the train departs.
B. Non-designated train tickets shall be refunded within the validity period of the tickets.
C. The operation charge for refund is 10% of the fare. However, if the charge is less than NT$ 1, it shall be NT$ 1.
D. Preferential tickets other than those legalized shall be refunded according to the instructions for use.
Article 3 Passengers with checked tickets may refund the tickets according to the provisions of the Office, if there is any one of the following circumstances:
1. Due to legitimate reasons such illness the ticket can be refunded during the validity period of the ticket.
2. The ticket can be refunded with the consent of the Office.
Article 4- The passenger may return the ticket and demand a full refund including the fare and miscellaneous fees and excluding the operation charge in any one of the following circumstances:：
1. Passengers must stop their riding or take another train or another type of carriage due to an engine or carriage malfunction or events not caused by the passengers.
2. Passengers stop their riding at the departure station or at the stop station because the train operation has been interrupted.
3. Due to the delay of the train, passengers stop boarding train at the departure station or cannot take a train within a certain period of time after arriving at the transfer station or are too late to take the designated train and discontinue their travel.
4. Passengers cannot take the train at the departure station because the train is cancelled.
5. Passengers have bought tickets of trains operated from the date on which the sea warning of typhoon is issued to the date on which the typhoon warning is canceled.
The tickets mentioned in this article shall be refunded as follows:
1. Passengers who stop boarding train at the departure station may demand a refund of the paid fare.
2. Passengers who stop traveling by train in the middle of journey when the train operation is interrupted may demand the refund for the remaining journey unfinished.
3. Passengers taking another train or another type of carriage that is lower fare train or carriage may demand the refund of the fare difference. Passengers taking another train or another type of carriage that is higher fare train or carriage are exempted from the fare difference
The refunds mentioned in the first two paragraphs do not affect the passenger’s right to claim compensation under the Civil Law and other laws.
The passengers who have lost their tickets shall buy tickets when taking a train.
Passengers who have lost their ticket shall report to the Office and buy another ticket with the same date, departure station and destination station as the lost one. If the passenger find the lost ticket afterwards and the Office verifies it has not been used for riding or for the remaining journey, the passenger may demand a refund of 80% of the fare within a year.
Section 6 Measures for interrupted train operation
Article 1- When the train operation is interrupted, the passengers may choose one of the following measures:
1. Passengers who want to stop their travel may demand a refund of the fare for the remaining journey.
2. Transport the passengers to the original departure station free of charge and refund the fare.
Article 2- All the passengers who were transported back to their original departure stations or stopped their travels or took another lower-class train to continue their travels or chose to take another transport mode to the section in which the train operation is not interrupted and continue their travels demand the refund (full fare, fare for remaining journey unfinished, or fare difference between the higher class train and lower class train) at the station where the train operation was interrupted, the original stations, or destination stations.
Article 3- If the station where the passenger demands a refund because the train operation has been interrupted is staffless, the neighboring stations shall handle the business. When the station cannot refund the ticket immediately due to insufficient cash, the person in charge shall note the date and the reason on the back of the ticket, stamp the station seal on the ticket, and return the ticket to the passenger to go to the designated station for refund.
Article 4- When the passenger train fails to be operated according to the timetable, the Office shall promptly notify the passengers of the cause and operation change, and update it at the station and on the train by means of broadcasting or information display.
Section 7 Compensation for accidents
Article 1 The Office shall be liable for the compensation according to "Regulations on Compensation and Allowances for Casualties and Losses Caused by Train operation Accidents and Other Accidents" when casualties and property losses caused by train operation accidents and other accidents.
Article 2 If the damages the passenger claims exceed the compensation set out in the aforementioned regulations, he/she may claim damages according to the Civil Code and other laws.
Article 3 Even if parties of a transport contract, by agreement, have designated a court of first instance to exercise jurisdiction, the application of Article 47 of the Consumer Protection Act and Paragraph 2, Article 28 and Paragraph 9, Article 436 of the Taiwan Code of Civil Procedure shall not be excluded.
Section 8 Passengers' belongings
Article 1- The total weight of belongings each passenger carries with them shall not exceed 15 kg, each piece shall not exceed 100 cm in length, and the sum of its length, width and height shall not exceed 200 cm. Passengers shall not place their belongings on aisles and shall take care of them on their own.
Article 2- Passengers whose belongings need to occupy a seat shall buy full fare ticket for the train they take and take care of the belongings themselves.
Article 3- Passengers shall not carry to the train dangerous goods, corpses, bones, bone ash, animals and items that are unclean, obstruct aisles, or are harmful or harassing to passengers and railways, excluding those described as follows:
1. Pets carried by passengers, such as cats, dogs, rabbits, fish and shrimps, and put in pet boxes or bags that are less than 43 cm long, 32 cm wide and 31 cm high, solid and waterproof not allowing feces to leak can be carried by passengers and placed under seats. (But during the epidemic of rabies and other diseases, passengers are prohibited from carrying cats, dogs and other mammals to trains in the areas where the Council of Agriculture has announced the ban).
2. The pets mentioned in the preceding paragraph do not include birds, snakes, beasts and species that may harm passengers or affect public health.
3. Police dogs, guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility assistance dogs and puppies carried by their professional trainers during the training or others that can be carried according to laws and regulations.
Article 4- Passengers who violate the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall get off the train at the nearest station ahead and may also be required to stay away from the station.
Article 5- Passengers carrying dangerous or flammable goods into the railway track, yards, stations or carriages without permission shall be sent to the competent authority for punishment according to Article 68-1 of the Railway Act.
Section 9 Compensation provisions
Article 1- Refund for air-conditioning problems:
Twenty percent of the fare of tickets held by passengers who have experienced the air conditioning problem shall be refunded (the refunds are rounded off to the nearest dollar.)
Article 2- Refund for double sale:
The passenger who has bought a reserved seat ticket found that the ticket was double sold and the train conductor did not have a reserved seat for him/her shall get 20% of the ticket fare as refund rounded off to the nearest dollar.
Article 3- Compensation passenger train delay:
When the Office fails to transport passengers to their destination stations on time according to the train timetable, it shall be liable for compensating the passengers for the delay according to the provisions of "Regulations Governing Compensation for Delayed Alishan Forest Railway Passengers" as follows:
1. The Office is liable for the train delay: when the train is delayed 90 minutes or more, 100% of the ticket fare actually paid shall be refunded.
2. The Office is not liable for the train delay: when the train is delayed 120 minutes or more, 100% of the ticket fare actually paid shall be refunded.
3. The train delay is caused by force majeure: the compensation is limited to the necessary expenses for the passenger to increase expenses due to delay.
If the loss of money the passengers suffer is more than the compensation regulated by the preceding paragraphs, they may claim damages according to the Civil Code and other laws.
Section 10 Breach of contract
If there are any outstanding issues not covered by this contract, they shall be addressed according to "Railway Act" and "Railway Transportation Rules" and the relevant announcements of the station.
Section 11 Suggestions
- If you have any enquiries or feedback, please visit the suggestion on our website.
- call customer service hotline +886-800-003096, Alishan Station +886-5-2679200 (Zhushan Line, Zhaoping Line, Shenmu Line), Forest Railway Chiayi box office +886-5-2256918 (Forest Railway Main Line)