Most intermediate stations on the line lie outside the cities served; however, a variety of transfer options, such as free shuttle buses, conventional rail, and metros have been constructed to facilitate transport connections.

[9] Taiwan's rapid economic growth during the latter half of the twentieth century led to congestion of highways, conventional rail, and air traffic systems in the western transport corridor, which threatened to impede the region's development.

[10] Consequently, in 1995, POHSR was transformed into the Bureau of High Speed Rail (BOHSR), which started to tender THSR as a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme in October 1996.

THSRC's bid was based on the high-speed technology platform of Eurotrain, a joint venture between GEC-Alsthom, the main maker of the French TGV, and Siemens, the main maker of the German ICE, while CHSRC's bid was based on Japanese Shinkansen technology supplied by Taiwan Shinkansen Consortium (TSC), a joint venture of Japanese companies.

[14] THSRC, which submitted the lower bid and promised to build the line with zero net cost from the government, was chosen as the preferred bidder in September 1997.

Out of four proposed route options, it was confirmed on 27 September that the expansion would bypass central Kaohsiung, branching from Zuoying east towards western Pingtung City, near Liukuaicuo, with an estimated cost of NT$55.4 billion.

[34][35] On 28 December 2024, Executive Yuan announced that the extension route would be altered to pass through the city centre with a stop at Kaohsiung Main Station.

[37] On 25 October 2019, the Railway Bureau published an assessment report to extend the line further from Taipei to Yilan, cutting travel time to 13 minutes.

[24][41] In response to increasing ridership and new stations that would begin operation in 2015, THSRC signed the contract for four new 700T trainsets with the Kawasaki consortium in May 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.

[46] This marked the first time Shinkansen technology was exported to a foreign country,[47] and it involved "rolling stock derived from a JR Central design running on both the European and Japanese track systems.

[51] Due to the limited number of Japanese companies who build Shinkansen rolling stock, it took several years for THSRC to agree an acceptable deal.

[59] Taiwan frequently faces multiple types of natural disasters, including typhoons, earthquakes, heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides.

For this reason, a primary focus of THSRC's infrastructure design was how to respond to natural disasters such as earthquakes[60] and how to ensure safety for all passengers and trains in any emergency situation.

[61] This system consists of a network of sensors installed along the rail route to detect unexpected situations such as earthquakes, strong winds, heavy rainfall, floods, landslides, and intrusions.

The most powerful earthquake that THSRC has experienced measured 6.4 on the Richter Scale with an epicenter 17 km (11 mi) from Jiaxian, Kaohsiung that shook southern Taiwan on 4 March 2010 (甲仙地震).

Although the situation was deemed safe with differential settlement between adjacent piers along the viaduct at only a sixth of the permissible level, the BOHSR urged the closure of more wells.

[68] In 2012, THSRC rated highly in the CommonWealth Magazine (天下雜誌) "Golden Service Award survey" (金牌服務大賞), not only far outpacing all rivals in the "long-distance land transport" category, but also taking the top spot in the overall rankings of 300 industries.

[105][111] About 251 km (156 mi) or 73% of the line runs on viaducts,[105] mostly precast pre-stressed concrete box girder spans,[111] the first of which was put in place in October 2001.

[111] The finished interior cross-sectional area of 90 m2 (970 sq ft),[106] set according to wider European standards,[107] provides space for two tracks with safety walkways.

[127] [128] A 330 year old camphor tree and a temple in Hsinchu County are located on the main route of the THSR, and both of them faced removal because of railway construction.

[128][129] Most of THSRC's revenue comes from ticket sales; supplemental income comes from other activities such as advertising and renting spaces for standing shops and spots in plazas.

In 2011, the Company continued to pursue sustainable growth aligned with the interests of shareholders and society, achieving record profits even amid a challenging economic environment.

In comparison with the terms and conditions of previous loans, the refinancing debts carried lower interest rates and longer tenors, up to 22 years.

[151] Both THSRC[146] and a September 2009 government report[150] identified an unreasonable financial structure and the resulting high interest rates and high depreciation charges as the main causes of negative financial performance, while the government assessed THSRC to have performed well in its core business, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

In response to global financial crisis and domestic economic recession, THSRC proposed to increase income and reduce expenditures in several aspects in the hope of raising operation performances.

In February 2009, THSRC announced to adjust train frequency, cut down salary payment by 10~20% among management level, and measured to expand fare promotion to stimulate ridership.

While the media questioned whether the planned construction of three more intermediate stations and the extension to Nangang would be postponed, THSRC published press release on 28 September 2009, stating that the company will comply with "Taiwan High Speed.

On 10 May 2017, a non-passenger carrying train traveled in the opposite direction of the track from Zuoying to Tainan for 1 km (0.62 mi) due to human negligence.

[161] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the THSR, along with Taiwan Railway Administration and bus services nationwide, began to require all passengers to wear surgical masks as of 1 April.

[102] Since 2010, along with World Vision Taiwan, THSRC has run a tuition fee assistance program for thousands of underprivileged children, to which passengers contribute.