President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday repeated his hope that a journey on the under-construction Airport Rail would take 28 minutes from Taipei Railway Station to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Ma visited the Airport Rail’s Cingpu (青埔) Depot in Taoyuan County to inspect the four train carriages to be used for the commuter train service, which arrived last month. The Bureau of High Speed Rail also briefed him on the progress of construction work.
“I hope that a non-stop express train from Taipei to the airport will take only 28 minutes,” Ma said in his speech. “This will encourage more people to quit driving and use the system instead.”
Photo: CNA
Ma said the Airport Rail project had been delayed for more than a decade and he encouraged the bureau to complete the construction ahead of schedule.
Despite Ma’s expectation, the bureau said in a press release that travel from Taipei Railway Station to the airport’s first terminal, with stops at New Taipei Industrial Park Station (新北產業園區站) and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Station (長庚醫院站), would take about 35 minutes.
However, the same distance on a commuter train would take more than 70 minutes, it said, as the train stops at every station along the route.
The 51km Airport Rail system will comprise 22 stations. Based on the bureau’s plan, the section between Sanchong Station (三重站) in New Taipei City (新北市) and Huanbei Station (環北站) in Jhongli City (中壢), Taoyuan County, is scheduled to become operational in June 2013. The entire route should be completed by October 2014.
The four commuter carriages were unveiled to the media yesterday.
The bureau said the system would be equipped with 28 trains manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The exterior design of the trains was inspired by the appearance of the Taiwan whistling thrush, a species indigenous to Taiwan that has shiny bluish-purple feathers.
The commuter trains will be painted blue at the front, while the front of the express trains will be purple. Each commuter train will consist of four carriages.
The system will also provide five-coach express trains with four passenger cabins and one luggage cabin.
Each train will be equipped with luggage racks and LCD panels displaying information on flights and the high-speed rail.
Outbound tourists will be able to check in their luggage at Taipei Train Station and the High Speed Rail Station in Taoyuan.
Bureau of High Speed Rail Director General Chu Hsu (朱旭) said the carriages for the express train service were scheduled to arrive this week.
Chu said the bureau would put the commuter coaches on public display at the Cingpu Depot from Oct. 7 through Oct. 11.
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