The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is assessing the viability of making the Taipei Railway Station “taller,” moving its main office to another location and turning the space into a shopping center, TRA Director-General Frank Fan (范植谷) said recently.
Fan said central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) suggested more than a month ago to Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) that the Taipei Railway Station could “be a little taller.”
Peng’s idea has garnered wide support, Fan said, adding that the TRA would outsource the task of evaluating its viability.
Photo: Tseng Hung-ju, Taipei Times
A full reconstruction of the Taipei Railway Station would affect too large an area, but adding a few floors would be easier and ensure structural safety, he said.
“The TRA has made a rough estimate of the viability of adding floors to the station. If we use light steel materials for the additional floors, they wouldn’t place too much of a strain on structural safety,” Fan said, adding that there is a limit to how many floors can be added.
Currently, the TRA leases the second floor, part of the ground floor and the first basement floor to Breeze Square. Despite the limited space, the revenue generated by the shops on those floors has exceeded expectations.
TRA’s contract with Breeze Square stipulates a minimum revenue of NT$60 million (US$2.06 million), but estimates show that sales this year could easily surpass NT$100 million, Fan said.
Some TRA officials have suggested moving the railway agency’s offices to the nearby Taipei Twin Towers project, and turning the vacated offices — currently taking up the third to sixth floors of the station — into a commercial center, Fan said.
After the Taipei Twin Towers are completed, the TRA would regain use of 60,000 ping (198,300m2) of land, he added.
The idea and the TRA’s approach have met with approval from members of the public and railway experts.
A commuter surnamed Yang (楊) said he often used the time waiting for the train to buy some sweets on the first floor or go to the second floor for a meal.
Having a shopping center will be an even better way for commuters to while their time away as they wait for trains, he added.
Another commuter, surnamed Lin (林), said it was hard to imagine how the TRA — which has been running a deficit for years — could sit on such a vital asset for so long.
If the TRA were to move its offices to the suburbs and change the station into a mall, it would revitalize its finances and help it develop a closer connection to the public, Lin said.
“It’s about time that the TRA came to its senses,” railway expert Hung Chih-wen (洪致文) said, adding that the TRA using the station — situated in the heart of downtown — as an office building was a waste.
Foreign railway companies usually move their headquarters to the suburbs, while reserving the station itself for commercial use, Hung said.
Since railway staff do not have to pay to take the train, the TRA should not just move its headquarters to the Twin Towers, but should instead move to the suburbs, Hung said.
However, there were also dissenting voices within the TRA who said the station’s main purpose is transportation and there are already too many people coming and going from the station.
Should the station become a commercial center, the sheer amount of pedestrian traffic would create an even bigger problem, they said, adding that the TRA’s dispatch center is also housed in the station and it would be difficult to move it elsewhere.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS