Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/17
By: Chen Yi-wei and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) Passengers on an express railway train running along the eastern

(Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Railways Administration)

coast of Taiwan were startled Monday by an unexpected traveler — a snake, which was spotted slithering in the aisle and then caught right before the train reached its destination of Hualien.

The serpentine stowaway was reported on the No. 208 Tze-Chiang Express (自強號) while the train was running southward toward Hualien during the morning commute. When the train stopped in Yilan, local firefighters were summoned to board the train in an attempt to capture the snake, which had by then managed to slink away.

Failing to have located the snake, the conductor decided that the train should continue its journey southward. The head of the train crew then finally managed to catch the reptilian rider while the train was running between Beipu (北埔) and Hualien, according to the Taiwan Railways Administration.     [FULL  STORY]