The South Link Railway (南迴鐵路), devastated by Typhoon Morakot in August, will resume full operations on Dec. 30, the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) said yesterday.
The agency also said that passengers for the first Tzuchiang-class express train on the reopened South Link Railway can buy tickets at a 50 percent discount.
Morakot severely damaged one of the nation’s most scenic railway routes. The TRA was able to restore the section between Taitung and Fangliao (枋寮) by Sept. 15, while work on the section from Fangliao and Kaohsiung will be complete soon.
The TRA said it would also increase express train and commuter train services between Hualien and Kaohsiung.
The first cruising tourist train on the South Link Railway will run in the early hours of the morning of Jan. 1 from Tainan. It will arrive at the beach at Taimali (太麻里) in Taitung around dawn.
The TRA will also offer cruising train services for those planning to celebrate New Year’s Eve on the East Coast. Passengers can board a business-class train from Shulin (樹林) on the evening of Dec. 31, which is scheduled to arrive at Fulong (福隆) and Toucheng (頭城) at midnight. The train’s final destination will be Taimali, where the passengers will be able to see the first rays of sunlight on Jan. 1.
The railway is also offering two other options for New Year’s. Passengers can board an express train to Hualien and join the cross-year celebration there, then reboard the train at Hualien at 2am and head to Fulong to join a music festival on the beach.
The third option is to board the train to Chongde (崇德) to greet the sunrise and then take a day tour at the Taroko National Park.
In other post-Morakot news, the local chapter of the Christian charity World Vision said yesterday that it has finished building 50 homes for typhoon survivors.
A ceremony will be held on Thursday to celebrate the completion of the homes, the group said.
“The celebration on Dec. 17 is a significant milestone for those who are recovering from the typhoon. The homes stand as a symbol of hope for them and of the fact that there are people all around Taiwan who are truly concerned about their future well being,” said Albert Yu, communications manager of World Vision Taiwan.
The new houses, which will be officially handed over to typhoon-affected families from Jialan Village (嘉蘭) in Taitung on Thursday, will mark the beginning of the villagers rebuilding a community full of new memories and joy, World Vision Taiwan said.
The 50 completed homes are part of the 1,200 homes the charity plans to build for typhoon victims in Taitung, Pingtung, Kaohsiung and Chiayi counties, which were some of the worst affected areas.
It said it would invest more than NT$1.4 billion (US$433 million) in public donations in its long-term rehabilitation programs to help Morakot survivors rebuild their lives.
Morakot killed more than 600 people after it hit Taiwan on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9. The damage caused by the typhoon in parts of southern and eastern Taiwan was the worst in 50 years.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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