Thinking about taking the MRT into Taipei today? Think again.
Taipei's mass rapid transit system is expected to be out of service for a second day today after Typhoon Nari flooded sections of the line linking Panchiao and Nankang.
But that's not expected to cause major headaches for the almost 1 million commuters who take the rails each day to jobs in the city. Government offices, schools and some businesses will remain closed today for a second day running.
"The whole MRT system was down today because of the typhoon. As for tomorrow's operations, it will depend on the extent by which the flood waters recede," said Lin Chi-yao (
"Because the flood waters are still there and it will take time to make checks and repairs, we don't expect services will return to normal in the short term."
The only line of the MRT system to resume operation today will be the elevated Mucha Line, scheduled to start around 7am.
Lin estimated the service interruption would result in lost ticket sales of more than NT$30 million. The spokesman said he would keep the public abreast of any changes.
Typhoon Nari also interrupted most of the nation's domestic flights yesterday. Services are expected to return to normal today except flights departing from Taipei, according to domestic airlines.
Far Eastern Air Transport, which canceled all domestic flights yesterday, said it would resume most of its operations today after 10am.
But "because of heavy flooding on the tarmac at Taipei's Sungshan Airport, we won't resume domestic flights departing from Taipei until 12pm," said Chen Yun-chuan (陳韻全), a Far Eastern spokeswoman.
Chen Ting-chieh (
But as of press time yesterday, UNI Airways wasn't able to say whether it would resume domestic flights for today.
Yesterday's heavy rainfall also caused the closure of most rail services along the west coast after the Taipei Railway Station was reportedly inundated by floodwaters.
"The underground platform at Taipei Railway Station was flooded yesterday and there are 28 places along the railway between Taipei and Sungshan and between Taipei and Ilan" that were also under water, said a Ministry of Transportation and Communications representative stationed at the Disaster Rescue Command Center. "There's no sign that railway travel will resume soon."
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
AIR ALERT: China’s reservation of airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea could be an attempt to test the US’ response ahead of a Trump-Xi meeting, the NSB head said China’s attempts to infiltrate Taiwan are systematic, planned and targeted, with activity shifting from recruiting mid-level military officers to rank-and-file enlisted personnel, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) integrates national security, intelligence operations and “united front” efforts into a dense network to conduct intelligence gathering and espionage in Taiwan, Tsai said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. It uses specific networks to screen targets through exchange activities and recruiting local collaborators to establish intelligence-gathering organizations, he said. China is also shifting who it targets to lower-ranking military personnel,
RSS