Twenty EMU900 train cars manufactured by Hyundai Rotem Co are to be delivered to the Port of Hualien on Saturday, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said on Saturday as it unveiled the interior design of the new cars.
The carriages are part of a large procurement project that the TRA began in 2018 to upgrade its train service quality, with the agency allocating NT$25.3 billion (US$873.05 million at the current exchange rate) to purchase 520 of the commuter cars from the South Korean company.
Each EMU900 train consists of 10 cars, and they would help increase transport capacity by about 40 percent, the TRA said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Railways Administration
The trains’ control and management systems would also be upgraded, it added.
The interior of the new cars was shown to the media on Saturday, with the agency highlighting an energy-saving lighting system that automatically dims the lighting when it is too bright.
EMU trains currently in use have two wheelchair-parking areas in two cars, but an EMU900 train has space for eight, all in its No. 6 car, the agency said.
Each car No. 5 has a staff room where conductors can take a break, which means that they could reach wheelchair passengers faster if assistance is requested.
The agency said that it would also expand the space for bicycles on EMU900 trains in view of rising popularity of cycling tours, with each train being able to accommodate 12 bikes.
EMU900 trains would have seating areas specifically designed for pregnant women or parents with young children, with space next to a seat for parents to park baby strollers, it said.
A sensor, which has an icon of a pregnant woman on top, would be installed on board as well, which pregnant passengers can press to remind passengers to yield their seats.
Surveillance cameras would be installed to monitor the inside the cars and doors to ensure the safety of passengers, it said.
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
A Chinese ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-controlled island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said yesterday. When Philippine forces assessed that the Chinese fishing vessel appeared to have run aground in the shallows east of Thitu Island (Jhongye Island, 中業島) on Saturday due to bad weather, Philippine military and coast guard personnel deployed to provide help, but later saw that the ship had been extricated, Philippine navy regional spokesperson Ellaine Rose Collado said. No other details were immediately available, including if there were injuries among
RSS