Ministry of Transportation Promotes Baishatun Pilgrimage Souvenirs: Limited Edition "Brave Character" Tickets and Patches

In response to the record-breaking number of participants for the Baishatun Mazu pilgrimage, the Ministry of Transportation announced today that it will implement a joint transportation system led by Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), supplemented by highways, and coordinated by High Speed Rail (HSR). They urge believers to utilize public transportation such as TRA, HSR, and bus transfers, and reduce the use of private vehicles. For highway buses, Chen Yan-po pointed out that direct services will be added between HSR Miaoli Station and Baishatun Gongtian Temple on April 12th and April 20th, deploying 75 large buses with 15 reserve vehicles, totaling 90 shuttle capacity. Additionally, for pilgrims traveling from HSR Miaoli Station to Beigang Chaotian Temple, direct services will be added on April 16th between Beigang Chaotian Temple and TRA Chiayi Station, deploying 70 large buses and 10 reserve vehicles, totaling 80 support vehicles. Wu Sheng-yuan, Political Deputy Minister of Transportation, stated that in addition to HSR adding 10 train services, considering that most pilgrims access Baishatun via TRA Baishatun Station, 182 additional local (express) trains and 25 Chu-Kuang trains will stop at Baishatun Station from April 11th to 20th, increasing capacity on the coastal line by 108.7% compared to weekdays. On April 12th in Zhunan and April 20th in Changhua, one EMU900 and one EMU800 train will be prepared, and additional services will be added flexibly depending on crowd needs. Considering the large crowds and hot weather at Baishatun Station last year, Wu Sheng-yuan revealed that the rain shelter has been extended from the original 50 meters to 200 meters. In response to sudden influxes of passengers, temporary access roads have also been widened from approximately 1.1 meters to 3.5 meters. Forward command posts will be set up at Baishatun Station on April 12th and 20th, and at Tongxiao Station on April 19th to coordinate station operations and manpower. Following last year's "Peaceful Guardian" items, the Ministry of Transportation has specially designed commemorative "Brave Character" tickets and "Relief Patches" this year. Chen Yan-po pointed out that the "Brave Character" ticket has "Eternal peace and safety" on the front and "Stop and yield for safety" on the back, hoping to combine these concepts to transform the spirit of mutual support and yielding on the pilgrimage path into a traffic safety culture practiced by all citizens. As for the relief patches, they are printed with "Stop and yield for safety" and "Brave steps on the road, safe journey," integrating traffic safety concepts. Both the TRA "Brave Character" tickets and "Stop and yield for safety" relief patches are limited to 5,000 pieces each. According to the distribution information released by the Ministry of Transportation, the first distribution will be at noon on April 12th at the TRA Baishatun Station footpath towards Gongtian Temple (Highway Bureau booth). The second distribution will be on April 16th, with a flash distribution at 9:25 AM at the Rizheng Tang Wedding Shop's theater store, and at 10:35 AM at the Taiwan Sugar Ice Cream shop next to Guangzhi Xiangyun (Highway Bureau booth). (Editor: Li Xi-zhang) 1150410