While the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) hopes to have the nation's first bullet train fully operational by the end of this month, the system still needs to be approved by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), former Taipei deputy mayor Ou Chin-der (歐晉德) said.
He said that the trains should be running over the entire route before the next Lunar New Year.
"Having it [the bullet train] launched in a perfect condition is better than having it launched on schedule," Ou said yesterday in his first meeting with the media since taking over as executive director of the THSRC.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Ou said that the company has been conducting test runs between various railway sections in the past few months, adding that selected groups of passengers have also been invited on board.
A trial period of one to two weeks will be held in which passengers will be invited at random from the public, although the system will have to pass the ministry's inspection before the trial runs could take place, he said.
"The purpose of the trial period is to make the public aware of the gradual improvement of the train service," Ou said.
He said timetables and ticket prices for the initial stage of official operation would be announced before the end of the month.
Meanwhile, the train could be opened to the public between Banciao (板橋) and Tsoying (左營) without having to wait until construction of the Taipei-Banciao line is complete.
Ou said that the company would conduct a test run between Banciao and Taipei today.
Ou made the remarks during a presentation at which the company displayed its new corporate logo, as well as the uniforms for station service personnel.
"We will start using the logo next week. ... It means that we are ready to operate and serve," THSRC chairwoman Nita Ing (
Ing said that the new logo was inspired by a waving banner, presented by nine short strokes in colors of apricot and grey, and was meant to convey a sense of great speed.
She added that the company had commissioned local fashion designer Jamei Chen (陳季敏) to create uniforms for nine different types of bullet train employees, such as train drivers, train crews, head of the train crews, clerks at the check-in counters and maintenance crews.
The uniforms feature apricot-colored details, in line with the corporate image. On average, each uniform costs around NT$10,000, officials said.
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
‘BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS’: The US military’s aim is to continue to make any potential Chinese invasion more difficult than it already is, US General Ronald Clark said The likelihood of China invading Taiwan without contest is “very, very small” because the Taiwan Strait is under constant surveillance by multiple countries, a US general has said. General Ronald Clark, commanding officer of US Army Pacific (USARPAC), the US Army’s largest service component command, made the remarks during a dialogue hosted on Friday by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Asked by the event host what the Chinese military has learned from its US counterpart over the years, Clark said that the first lesson is that the skill and will of US service members are “unmatched.” The second
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS