The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said on Thursday it was considering accepting the terms of a settlement proposed by the Public Construction Commission which would allow the contractor of the EMU800 train system to use a Japanese brake system.
In 2011, the railway agency contracted state-run Taiwan Rolling Stock Co (TRSC) to build 296 EMU800 commuter train carriages, with the first batch of 16 carriages being built in Japan and the remainder being built in Taiwan.
Prior to signing the contract, the agency had listed three different brake systems that could be used in the new trains, with a German brake system topping the list, followed by the Japanese one. The contractor chose the German brake system.
However, the TRA found during an on-site inspection in Japan that the contractor had used the Japanese brake system rather than the German one, without informing the agency. The TRA asked the company to address the problem within a designated period, or it would fail a final inspection of the train carriages.
The TRSC said it might have to declare bankruptcy if it fails to deliver on the NT$15.4 billion (US$515.6 million) contract.
The dispute between the TRA and the contractor eventually went to the Public Construction Commission for arbitration, which has proposed that the two parties reach a settlement under four conditions. First, the two must establish testing and inspection procedures for the first batch of 16 train carriages. Second, since using the Japanese brake system would save the contractor about NT$99.5 million in manufacturing costs, the TRA is entitled to deduct the stated amount from their original agreement. Third, the warranty period for the brake system is extended from three to four years; and fourth, the backup supplies of air compressors are to be increased by 50 percent.
In addition to those terms, TRSC agreed to deduct NT$5 million from the contracted sum as the arbitration had saved the contractor from a potentially expensive lawsuit.
Ho Hsien-lin (何獻霖), director of the TRA’s Rolling Stock Department, said that after consulting with the agency’s lawyers, it is considering accepting the terms of the settlement.
He said that the terms would be executed following a final confirmation from the commission.
The dispute had delayed the delivery of the first 16 train carriages, which were scheduled to arrive in September last year.
Ho said the TRA would ask the contractor to speed up the delivery of the first batch.
The EMU800 commuter trains are to be used to increase the number of train services to the east coast, following electrification of the railway line between Hualien and Taitung. The new trains are also to be deployed to carry commuters between Keelung and Hsinchu, the largest commuter corridor in northern Taiwan. Some of the old trains may be retired after the addition of the new trains, Ho said.
Despite the settlement, Ho said the railway agency would still follow the contract in terms of the penalties imposed on contractor if it fails to deliver the train carriages.
The contractor will face a fine of NT$770,000 per day for each day it misses the deadline stated in the contract, Ho said, adding that it would include the time spent settling the dispute.
The agency estimated that the first batch of trains should arrive in September and the new trains could be used to carry passengers by the Lunar New Year holiday next year.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern