Taiwan Rail Developments

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MRT firms predict massive losses
Taipei Times Excerpt
August 16, 2021

The operators of the country’s four largest MRT metro rail systems have predicted combined losses of up to NT$10.156 billion (US$364.54 million) due to low ridership after the nationwide COVID-19 alert was raised to level 3 on May 19.

For the year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp estimated losses of NT$5 billion to NT$8 billion, Taoyuan Metro Corp forecast NT$900 million in losses for its line from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Taipei, Taichung Mass Rapid Transit System Co predicted losses of NT$656 million and Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp estimated NT$600 million in losses, the companies said on Saturday.

In 2019, the average daily ridership of the Taipei MRT system was 2.16 million people, which dropped slightly to about 2 million people from last year through April, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said on Friday.

More : https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/tai.../16/2003762692

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High-speed rail service to increase next month
Taipei Times Excerpt
Aug 17, 2021

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) is to increase high-speed rail services from Sept. 1 to ease crowding during peak hours, it said yesterday.

Rail services were reduced after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on May 19 imposed a nationwide level-3 COVID-19 alert, which caused ridership to plummet.

The COVID-19 alert was lowered to level 2 on July 27.

Canceled services were partially resumed before Aug. 8 to accommodate people returning to their hometowns for Father’s Day.

Next month, 180 trains — 90 southbound and 90 northbound — would be added to the timetable, with the weekly total reaching 809, THSRC said.

More : https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/tai.../17/2003762755

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High speed rail tickets for Mid-Autumn Festival to go on sale
Excerpt

Taipei, Aug. 18 (CNA) Tickets for travel on Taiwan's bullet train around the Sept. 18-21 Mid-Autumn Festival will go on sale at midnight Friday, and more trains have been scheduled to meet demand, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) said Wednesday.

Passengers will be able to book tickets for travel from Sept. 17 to 22, during which 179 more services ‒ 84 southbound and 95 northbound ‒ will be added to the current schedule, the company said.

A total of 797 services will be operated during the period, and only reserved seats will be offered, it said.

More : https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202108180014

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8797次 @貨辦=台中港 by 容緣 林, on Flickr

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TRA 8779 @ 汐科-南港 EMU900 by JamesChan7751, on Flickr

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金黃大地 | 701次 | 知本北 by C.H.Tang Photography, on Flickr

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Two more people charged in Taroko train derailment
August 20, 2021
Taipei Times Excerpt

Hualien prosecutors yesterday indicted two more suspects over the derailment of a Taroko Express train in Hualien County on April 2, bringing the total of people indicted over the incident to nine.

The train was traveling from New Taipei City to Taitung on April 2 when it struck a crane truck that had slid down a hill onto the tracks from a construction site outside an entrance to the Cingshuei Tunnel (清水隧道) in Hualien County, killing 49 people and injuring more than 200.

The suspects are an engineer working for the train operator and the project manager of a contractor, the prosecutors said.

The engineer, surnamed Pan (潘), is a supervisor at Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) Hualien Engineering Section, and the manager, surnamed Kuo (郭), works for CYL Engineering Consulting Inc (中棪工程顧), which supervised the construction site, they said.

Both men have been indicted for negligence resulting in death, and Pan is also charged with forgery, as he allegedly submitted false reports about the project’s progress, Hualien head prosecutor Chou Fang-yi (周芳怡) said.

More : https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/tai.../20/2003762922

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_MG_5100 by waychen_c, on Flickr

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D71_2895 by brook1979, on Flickr

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8151 by 蕭 暐承, on Flickr

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IMG_2598 by 蕭 暐承, on Flickr

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Contractor ignored truck problem in Taroko case: probe
August 24, 2021
Taipei Times Excerpt

A Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) contractor whose truck slid onto a railway track, leading to a fatal derailment of a Taroko Express train on April 2, had experienced a battery failure on his way to work, an investigation by the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board showed yesterday.

The train driver had only seven seconds to respond before the train crashed into the truck and derailed inside the Cingshuei Tunnel (清水隧道), it said.

The crash killed 49 people and injured 213.

The board published a 278-page report on the facts of the accident following a four-month investigation.

The final investigation report is to be released in April next year, in which the board would identify the main causes of the accident and make safety suggestions to all concerned parties, board chairman Young Hong-tsu (楊宏智) said.

More : https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/fro.../24/2003763129

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新北環狀線 by 尼維雄小, on Flickr

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_OU50635 by chia ying Yang, on Flickr

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Hsinchu Railway Station by CKSC33_ThomasWu, on Flickr

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Japanese contractor to be penalized for sub-standard airport MRT
Excerpt

Taipei, Aug. 29 (CNA) Taiwan will deduct over NT$700 million (US$25.08 million) from the NT$1.1 billion it still owes the Japanese contractor of the Taoyuan International Airport mass rapid transit (MRT) line because it failed to meet performance standards stipulated in the contract.

The Railway Bureau said Sunday the money will be withheld before it issues its final acceptance of the system as Tokyo-based Marubeni Corp. failed to meet contract requirements related to travel times, operating speeds and intervals between trains.

Railway Bureau Deputy Director Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said Sunday that if Marubeni disagrees with the decision, it can appeal it.

The government signed a contract with Marubeni in January 2006 to build the system for about NT$25 billion. Construction began on Feb. 27, 2006 and was scheduled to be completed in 2010.

But repeated delays and technical obstacles pushed the line's launch back six times before it finally began operations in March 2017, though at speeds and intervals that fell short of the required standards.

More : https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202108290007

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2021-08-11 07.46.33 by Tzuhsun Hsu, on Flickr

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THSRC first public transport service to issue green bonds
Taipei Times Excerpt
August 31, 2021

Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) yesterday became the nation’s first public transport service provider to issue sustainability bonds to fund its green initiatives and social investment projects.

Sustainability bonds refer to financing instruments in which the issuer uses all the funds raised for green initiatives, social investment projects or other related plans. The bonds must be issued based on the Taipei Exchange’s “Rules Governing the Issuance of Sustainability Bonds,” and can be traded on the over-the-counter market.

“The issuance of the sustainability bonds shows our determination to fulfill our responsibilities to the environment, society and corporate governance, as well as our commitment to pursuing the sustainable development of the rail service,” it said in a statement.

More : https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/tai.../31/2003763537

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IMGF1078_1SS by JLC_photography, on Flickr

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2163次 by Ching-yu WENG, on Flickr