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Mid-Autumn Festival to test patience of travelers

The destruction that resulted from Typhoon Nari has turned Taiwan's traffic into a living nightmare, especially in Taipei. But according to officials, railways and highways should return to normal before the Mid-Autumn Festival on Oct 1.

The holiday is traditionally a time for family reunions, when many urban workers return to their hometowns. For this reason, the festival has become an annual test of the nation's ability to manage traffic.

After the recent onslaught of Typhoon Nari, however, worse than usual traffic snarls are being anticipated.

Sounding a note of hope was Deng Chia-chi (鄧家琦), a section chief from the Taiwan Railway Administration. According to Deng, railway transport is only partially disrupted.

"We hope and expect that Typhoon Nari's destruction will not impact upon traffic flow during the holiday," Deng said.

The administration continued to suggest, however, that those who have reserved tickets via phone or the Internet before Monday double check to ensure that train operations are stable before picking up their tickets.

Landslides, which covered over 650m of railway from Fulong to Taipei, are expected to be cleared before next week. The repair of a damaged bridge connecting Patu and Keelung station is scheduled to be repaired within 10 days. Patu is located in Keelung City and is a key station connecting the country's north-south railway with the East Coast.

The Sungshan Tunnel, which connects Sungshan train station with the Taipei Railway Station is still being pumped out and will need further inspection before it can be approved for use.

"We cannot tell when this route will be fully restored," Deng said.

After nearly five consecutive days of pumping, the Taipei Railway Station was dry again yesterday morning.

Along the nation's highways, 26 sites have been identified as damaged by the typhoon, mainly bridges.

"Most of these problems will be resolved before the holiday, except for those in the more mountainous areas," said Su Yen-lin (蘇艷麟) of the Highways Bureau.

To cope with the partial railway disruption between Patu to Keelung, the bureau has given permission to two private bus companies to operate the route between Keelung and Taipei on a temporary basis .

In addition, the former Taiwan Motor Transport Co -- now called Kuokuang Transport Co -- has also increased the number of buses running between Keelung and Taipei.
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