The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday completed the final inspection of the Taipei MRT system’s Neihu Line without any major concerns.
After the inspection, officials said that there must be clear directions inside the terminals at Songshan Airport guiding passengers to Songshan Airport MRT Station before the Neihu Line begins operation and that Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station on the Blue Line must also have directions leading passengers to the Neihu Line or the Brown Line.
Chi Wen-jong (祈文中), director of the MOTC’s Department of Railways and Highways, said the Taipei City Government had yet to display these directions — for fear of confusing passengers.
“Because the Neihu Line has not begun operations yet, passengers might be misled by direction signs into believing that they can start taking the trains now,” Chi said. “We accepted their [the Taipei City Government’s] explanation. So we only asked them to meet this particular requirement the day before they open the Neihu Line.”
Chi said the department had requested the Taipei City Government to fulfill this requirement as well, adding that it needs no further confirmation from the MOTC.
The Taipei City Government can decide when it wants to open the Neihu Line, he said.
“It really depends on when they can finish all the necessary complementary measures,” he said.
Meanwhile, the MOTC also listed 13 items that Taipei Rapid Transit Corp should strive to improve and two other suggestions.
Chi said the company should continue to work on these 13 items, which do not compromise operational safety, such as increasing bicycle racks.
The two suggestions included inviting experts to examine the facilities for handicapped passengers and working to lower noise the trains generate when they cross overpasses.
The inspection began on Saturday when inspectors checked Songshan Airport Station and Wende Station.
Yesterday, inspectors gave Taipei MRT system staff several hypothetical scenarios from the traffic control center in Neihu to test how they would respond under various situations.
They first tested the system’s ability to dispatch trains in two-minute intervals.
One of the scenarios simulated an earthquake measuring five on the Richter Scale occurring as a train arrived at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.
The staff guided the “passengers” to the closest exits and switched the system to manual operation mode.
The traffic control center also dispatched overpass maintenance personnel to check if there was any damage.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS