Wang joins bullet train test ride

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and lawmakers serving on the legislative transportation committee took part in a test ride of the nation's first bullet train yesterday.

Both Wang and the legislators boarded the high-speed rail for the first time, on a test of the stretch between Taichung and Kaohsiung.

"The train went fast and smoothly," Wang said, "It was comparable to the Shinkansen [bullet train] in Japan."

MOTC minister Kuo Yao-chi (郭瑤琪) and Chairwoman of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) Nita Ing (殷琪) were among the dignitaries that were invited to join the ride.

Kuo reiterated she was confident that the high-speed rail system will become fully operational by the end of the October, adding that she would step down immediately if that goal were not met.

Kuo emphasized, however, that the high-speed rail could only be launched when all safety concerns had been addressed.

When asked why the test run did not pass through Miaoli County, where there have been sinkages along the rail line, Kuo said that the section between Taipei and Taichung is still undergoing preliminary testing and that some construction was still in progress. The company has previously said that the sinkages in Miaoli County were not unusual on this type of construction project.

"The construction from Wuji (烏日) in Taichung County toward the south has already been finished, which makes [that section] more appropriate for a test ride," she said.

A test run of the entire route may be held in a month, Kuo said. But she noted that the ministry has yet to settle on ticket prices for the high-speed rail line because THSRC has not yet delivered a proposal for review.

The company should be able to secure loans from major banks soon that will help fund its operations.

"I thought [the company] would be able to announce the plan today, but it didn't," Kuo said. "But I am sure the problem will be solved soon."

Yesterday's test ride was hosted by the MOTC's bureau of high speed rail, the government agency in charge of supervising the construction and operation of Taiwan's first bullet train.

The test ride took off from the high-speed rail station in Wujih at 10:25am and arrived at Tsoying (左營) at 11:03am. The train was operating at an average speed of 300kph -- the speed required in the build-transfer-operate contract.

China Airlines chairman Philip Wei (魏幸雄), who joined the test ride, said that domestic flights will be affected once the high speed rail system becomes operational.

"Flights between Taipei and Taichung will not be sustainable," he said.