Taiwan Railway Mealbox

History

During the Japanese era, train passengers either dined at a dining car or opted for an ekiben. However, ekiben boxes were only available at stations, not in train cars.

Under the Chinese Nationalists' rule from 1945 onwards, a variety of private catering services sprang up as railway transportation gained popularity. These services were then integrated by the Taiwan Railway Administration in 1960, gradually shaping the major source of revenues of the administration other than transport itself.

On 9 Jun 2000, the pork chop bento, which had been discontinued for 32 years, reappeared in public on the Railways Festival. The originally estimated one thousand boxes to be sold turned out to be a sales of over 90 thousand due to their popularity.

On 26 Feb 2015, Keikyu Corporation, a Japanese rail operator, sold Taiwan Railway Mealboxes as a promotional event.

Ingredients and distribution

Known primarily for their pork chop, Taiwan Railway Mealboxes contain a variety of side dishes apart from rice, including a braised egg, a piece of dried tofu, several pieces of dried white radish among others.

The Taiwan Railways Administration has established five catering zones at Songshan, Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, and Hualien railway stations, where staff members of the TRA hand over mealboxes to car attendants for on-board distribution. On board during meal time (11:00-13:00 and 17:00-19:00), car attendants ask if there are passengers who would like a bento in Mandarin and Hokkien along the aisle with a trolley cart.

The containers used to be made of stainless steel, which were returned and washed after the contents had been consumed. However, due to exceedingly high costs and low return rates (passengers brought the steel boxes home without permission), the administration instead provide food in disposable paper boxes.