Taiwan's first high-speed rail service may be delayed because of a mismatch of European and Japanese train systems, a source close to the main Japanese contractor said yesterday.
A report in the Asahi Shimbun of Japan said the project may be delayed by as much as a year. But the Japanese contractor source, who requested anonymity, said the length of the delay was not known.
"The problem is not whether it would be delayed but how long it would be delayed. It's just a matter of time," the source said.
Taiwan's High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC), the main investor in the rail system originally forecast commercial operations would begin on Oct. 31 this year.
However, efforts to integrate European and Japanese components for the service have lagged.
THSRC declined to comment on the report of a delay.
"We're still working hard towards the target," a THSRC official said.
THSRC is required to report to the government on any change of the scheduled operation timetable one month ahead of the deadline for commercial services.
The link, which has been in the pipeline since the early 1990s, is seen as an attempt to modernize Taiwan's outdated infrastructure and prevent it from dragging down the economy.
The 345km track links the capital Taipei with the island's second city of Kaohsiung in the south and is expected to carry up to one million passengers a year and cut travel times.
Japan's Taiwan Shinkansen Consortium won the US$3 billion contract for the project in 1998.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS