Hello Kitty fans in Taiwan have something new to celebrate.

On Monday, Taiwan unveiled its Hello Kitty-themed Taroko Express train, which set off from the Shulin train station. This train will travel to Taitung on the east coast route.

The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) said that plans are on to introduce Hello Kitty merchandise and also add more themed trains to its fleet.

EVA Air staff pose for a photograph with a Hello Kitty mascot beside the new Taroko Express Hello Kitty train, which carried out its first service on Monday
EVA Air staff pose for a photograph with a Hello Kitty mascot beside the new Taroko Express

The train with eight carriages that carries the themes of the iconic fictional character drew a lot of attention.

TRA will launch two regular Hello Kitty trains every Friday, Saturday and Sunday after April 21 to meet public demand.

Before April 21, two Kitty trains will be launched — one from Shulin in New Taipei to Taitung on April 2 and the other from Shulin to Yuli in Hualien April 5, reported Focus Taiwan.

The TRA, which is cooperating with Japanese Sanrio Co to launch the special Taroko Express train, the first Taiwanese passenger train to feature the theme of the popular cartoon cat Hello Kitty, said it believes that the theme train will be a success among train travelers.

The train has a total number of eight carriages, and each carriage comes with a unique Hello Kitty design.

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