None of them, 2 have have all been rebuilt in the last 15 yrs or so and the other two in the last 35 yrs or so.
Okay. So…
Absent of any other main railway stations in Taipei, and being the only railway station in what is usually considered “downtown” Taipei, do you not think it’s appropriate to call it “Taipei Main Station” rather than “Taipei West Station”?
You can’t call it “W. Something” if the “Main Something” or “E. Something” doesn’t exist, right?
Ahh - I think you have become confused, I do not suggest changing the name of Taipei Main Station (the TRA/HSR/TPE MRT one) at all.
The station I think that should be renamed is the one called Taipei Main which is the terminal station of the Taoyuan line. Having that station called Taipei Main station is confusing and it would make more sense to call it something like Taipei Main West station to make it clear it is not Taipei Main station but a separate station.
I haven’t taken the Taoyuan line to Taipei. Is the terminal station far away from the Taipei Main Station (the TRA/HSR/TPE MRT one)? Far enough that it should be given a completely different name?
It is a separate station roughly 1/2 way between BeiMen Stn and Taipei Main. If you are taking the red line to get to the airport express it is far closer and easier to change to the green line and go to BeiMen to swap stations. I have met a number of people who have been quite confused by the long distance - very annoying for them if they are carrying/pushing bags for a journey to the airport. A simple name change and more people will realise that its usually better to swap between TPE MET and the airport express at Beimen.
I’m looking at a map, and it looks more like an annex (or extension) of the Taipei Main Station. It all looks connected to me.
Well since you have said you have never done it and I can tell you I have done it to both Taipei Main and to Beimen I would suggest that you either accept what I say or go and walk it and report back.
It is connected to both Beimen and Taipei Main (TRA) but the gates to enter the taoyuan line are certainly closer to Beimen and there are far less level changes to get there too.
Top two quote I found
“Also, from Taipei Main Station you have to walk for miles through crowds of people. It’s much closer and easier if you take the green line to Beimen Station and go from there.”
" The gates for the Airport express is closer to Beimen than Taipei station, so if it works out for you, you can just take the MRT to Beimen, then board from there."
Then they should call it the Beimen Station. I don’t think three interconnected stations need three different names.
Which would create great confusion for the 100,000 of visitors who just want to take ‘the train to Taipei’.
I know. I was being sarcastic. Obviously Taipei Main Station is the better choice.
Naming it Taipei West Station gives the impression that it’s located in a completely different part of the city from the Main Station, and would create great confusion for the 100,000 of visitors who just want to take “the train to the main station of Taipei”.
Except that the idea was …
Well that makes way more sense! Or Taipei Main Station (West).
Well I am glad we have finally sorted that out.
important distinction to make here: the connection is a walkway but it is outside of the paid area, so need to tap-out and then tap-in from both taipei st and beimen before getting in the taipei taoyuan MRT station.
Also, they are operated by different entities, one is the Taipei MRTC, the other is Taoyuan’s MRTC.
From taipei st is a good 15-20 mins walk and not that intuitive if you don’t pay close attention to the signage, from Beimen is a 15 mins tops walk (most likely 10 mins at a decent pace and walking on the limited travelators). Even car access is completely different, like T1 and T2 at TPE.
It is very misleading and should be renamed entirely, like a bit in HK @user86 , you have HK station (Airport express and Tung Chung line) and Central station (island and Tseun Wan line). The walk there is shorter and also within the paid area (besides airport express as it is a different fare line), but still 2 different names. Or look at TST and TST East (outside of paid area and still, shorter walk!).
I tried both ways and I think it’s a wash. Beimen seems closer but there’s a mess of levels you must descend to get to the trains. It doesn’t feel closer and there’s some dead ends you gotta watch out for if you’re pushing luggage.
Also if you are pushing luggages towards Taipei main station mrt, there’s no downward escalator so you must use elevators. This can mean a long line.
I agree completely.
In Tokyo for example they distinguish between Ueno Station (with JR and two Tokyo Metro lines) and Keisei Ueno Station (with the Keisei line to Narita Airport). We can tell both are in Ueno, they are not that far apart, but they are also separate stations with different purposes.
Guy
Or all the different Shinjuku “substations”, like the odakyu and keio.
The problem with that approach is that the company running the airport line here is “Taoyuan Metro Corporation”—and if the name “Taoyuan” were added to “Taipei Main Station” we’d have a confusing geographical mess.
I still like the “Taipei Main West” idea presented by @eldrich .
Someone with connections should pitch this!
Guy
If the bus is more suitable for you, you should just take the bus then, no? That’s how public transport works.
They obviously always need to find a compromise between too many and too few trains based on passenger numbers, and you’ve also complained about empty trains etc. being a waste of resources before. You can’t have it both ways.
I’m not sure how many times per day/week you feel the need to spontaneously ride to Carrefour and/or Fisherman’s Wharf and back, but if it’s such a regular journey for you and you don’t want to sometimes wait 10-15 mins I would have thought you could just choose when you leave home to match the schedule. It’s possible they didn’t plan the entire line and schedule around a journey you (or any other single passenger) sometimes want to take.
The whole island is a mess when it comes to naming stations.
Zuoying station in Kaohsiung has the MRT, HSR, and TRA serving it. But wait! The TRA calls that station by a different name, New Zuoying, because there is already another TRA station called Zuoying. 
BTW since they decided that Zuoying would be the only HSR station in Kaohsiung, you’d think they’d at least have the courtesy to rename the station “Kaohsiung”.
I mean, there are two Taichung stations (one for the HSR and one for the TRA) and two Tainan Stations. Might as well keep the trend for Kaohsiung as well.