The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) said yesterday that it has been forced to stop trial operations of its newly purchased EMU700-model commuter trains three times because of a series of problems found during the testing process.
The nation's largest railway company purchased a total of 160 EMU700-model train cars from local contractor Taiwan Rolling Stock Co (TRSC, 台灣車輛公司).
The company formed a technical partnership with the Japanese manufacturer Nippon Sharyo, the original designer of EMU series.
Twelve of the TRA-ordered trains were made by Nippon Sharyo Co, and the other 148 cars were manufactured by Taiwan Rolling Stock.
The first set of EMU700 commuter trains, consisting of four cars, began operations at the end of August and were used mainly to carry commuters between Hsinchu and Hualien.
The TRA issued a statement yesterday saying that problems emerged when the administration began testing the second set of EMU700 train carriages. The on-board broadcasting system, for example, was supposed to be automatically activated whenever the train entered a station. Likewise, the LED panels in each car should also correctly inform passengers about the train's next stop and provide other passenger information.
According to the statement, none of these systems functioned properly when tested.
Meanwhile, TRA inspectors have identified other issues, such as problems with the train's passenger seats, car doors and air-conditioning system.
The statement said the administration originally estimated that the second set of EMU carriages would begin operations last month. So far, the testing has not been completed.
The administration said that it was concerned that the delay is going to affect the service it provides. It also said there are no replacements for the first set of EMU trains if a problem develops. Without them, the administration cannot retire all the old trains that are still in use between Hsinchu and Hualien, it said.
TRA spokesperson Chang Ying-huei (張應輝) said yesterday that they will do everything they can to stick to the terms stated in the contract.
Chang said that the contract dictated that the administration is entitled to seek compensation from TRSC if the testing takes longer than 30 days.
He also said that TRSC will be asked to pay about NT$258,000 each day after the expiration date.
"The accumulated penalty has so far reached NT$17 million," he added.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book