Taiwan: New Taoyuan Airport MRT vs Guo Guang Bus from airport to Taipei Main station

During my recent trip to Taipei, I took the newly launched(Mar 2017) taoyuan airport MRT during my recent trip to Taiwan.

For the month of March, there is a promotional rate of 80TWD one way. Of course, the trip is payable by 悠游卡 （transport card). 

 

How to get to the Taoyuan Airport Mrt

From the airport:

Come out from the arrivals section, turn right and walk towards the escalators and head down to the basement.

To the airport:

It is located at taipei main station, though it was quite a walk from the taipei main station metro (7-10 minutes)

There are many signs that point you to the right direction.

Review of the train ride:

There are 2 types of train services avaialble - the normal service and the express service.
The common sense advised me to take the express service for faster arrival to destination.
The express service only operates a total of 5 stations (airport terminal 1 and 2 included), as opposed to 16 stations for the normal service.

 

The seats are not as spacious as the high speed rail, but still comfortable. I would say they provide better comfort than airplane seats.

 

We were rewarded with a great view of Taipei (or what is in between) as the train zips through an elevated rail.

 

The ride from terminal 1 to taipei is about 30mins - 35mins

 

The usual price is 160 TWD but for the opening month of March there is a half price promotion.

Recommendation (Train vs bus from airport to Taipei main station):

・The MRT provides a faster way to commute to the city, as compared to taking guo guang bus which can take up to 1 hour.

・The price is comparable (160 TWD vs 125TWD)

・One potential disadvantage is that it might get crowded during peak hours, while for the bus there is always the comfort of a coach-style seating.

・Both operates at comparable frequencies.