Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒) said yesterday that the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) would begin test runs of its new train based on a timetable with four-minute intervals on Monday.
The company is also expected to demonstrate its ability to conduct two-way operations on a single stretch of track.
In addition, Ho affirmed that on either Wednesday or Thursday, the company would begin further test runs under the condition that trains depart stations at intervals of no greater than 10 minutes for a period of 90 minutes.
Test runs must be carried out every day for two weeks.
Regarding the major deficiencies brought up in the railway's Independent Validation and Verification report and by its inspection committee, Ho said he has required the company to brief him on measures to resolve the deficiencies every week.
Passing grade
The preliminary test run schedule was agreed upon at a supervisory meeting on Tuesday night, where members of the inspection committee gave a conditional passing grade to the nation's bullet train.
Ho hosted the supervisory meeting, which was also attended by officials from the Bureau of High Speed Rail as well as THSRC representatives.
Based on the conclusions made at a separate final review meeting, the company is required to present solid records for the specified test runs in order to secure an operating permit from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
No accidents
Besides the test runs, inspectors mandated that the company operate without accidents for a month after a derailment caused widespread concern on Nov. 24.
When asked how "accidents" would be defined, Ho said that MOTC would apply the definition used by the Railway Laws (鐵路法) and other relevant statutes used to regulate privately run railways.
One of the laws, for example, clearly states that accidents include train crashes, derailments, rail operations that are suspended for longer than 24 hours and passenger deaths or injuries.
Ho said that MOTC reserved the authority to determine what constituted a major accident.
Ho also yesterday that the test runs would have to begin again from scratch if even one accident occurred.
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