The first sleek, white-and-orange train left Panchiao, just outside the capital Taipei, at 7am for the southern city of Kaohsiung, taking just 90 minutes to cover the 345-kilometres, compared to four hours previously.

"I'm happy here with you. This is a big day for Taiwan," Patrick Poulenas, a senior train driver from France dressed in a deep blue uniform, told AFP.

The presence of a French driver at the controls of the Japanese designed Shinkansen or Bullet Train reflects the chequered history of the project, first conceived in the 1990s and based on the Eurotrain of Alstom-Siemens.

Then in 1998 president Lee Teng-hui awarded the $3-billion US dollar core contract to Japan's Taiwan Shinkansen Consortium for the trains as well as signalling, electrification, communications and control systems.

Currently Poulenas and 39 compatriots along with 13 German drivers operate the trains but Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) hopes local drivers will replace them within 18 months after an intensive training programme.

Despite controversy over the project, estimated to have cost more than $15-billion, and recent safety concerns following derailments during trial runs, passengers Friday were enthusiastic and proud of the achievement.

"I could not sleep last night. I got up very early in the morning as I feared I might miss this historic moment," said Su Cheng-er (68) who was on board with eight other family members.

"This is about national pride," Su told AFP, adding that he was not worried about the much-talked about safety concerns.

Another passenger Lan You-tao, a 54-year-old businessman, said he was not worried about the safety issues as the train roared down the western side of Taiwan at 260 kilometers an hour. The train has a top speed of 300 kilometers.

Train set to boost economy

As well as a matter of national pride, the high-speed train is widely expected to transform Taiwan ? for both good and bad ? by shrinking travel times and regional differences.

President Chen Shui-bian, who took a test ride on Monday, ambitiously asserted the "revolutionary vehicle will virtually transform Taiwan into a city state like Singapore."

The possibilities of commuting to Taipei from central Taichung city or even Kaohsiung, unthinkable previously, are now being widely discussed, with some promoting the idea for bringing the island's people closer together.

Already land prices around the line's eight stations ? formerly rice paddies or sugarcane farms ? have soared, turning hundreds of farmers into millionaires virtually overnight.

Passengers will pay 1460 Taiwan dollars ($45) for a standard class seat from Panchiao to Kaohsiung ? about 70 percent of the price of an air ticket while business class will cost 2390 dollars.

THSRC had hoped to start services in October 2005 but core system delays thwarted that ambition and cost the company an extra 19.3-billion Taiwan dollars ($595-million) on top of the original 480 billion Taiwan dollars.

The railway will be managed by the THSRC for 35 years before it is turned over to state control under the terms of the build-operate-transfer project, the largest of its kind in the world.