The first two sets of EMU800-model commuter trains are scheduled to arrive from Japan at the end of next month, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said yesterday, adding that the new trains would become operational before the Lunar New Year holiday.
The nation’s largest railway operator yesterday unveiled photographs of the new trains at its headquarters at Taipei Railway Station.
TRA Deputy Director-General Lu Chieh-shen (鹿潔身) said the new trains can operate at speeds of up to 130kph. The maximum speed of the commuter trains currently in use is 110kph.
Lu said the trains’ seat covers are woolen. While the law only requires 15 percent of the seats on a train to be designated as priority seating, he said that 25 percent of the seats on the new train are priority seats.
The first and the eighth cabins of the new trains can be used by cyclists traveling with their bicycles, with each cabin able to accommodate eight bicycles at a time.
The exteriors of the new commuter trains are decorated in silver, blue and yellow. The yellow line on the front of the locomotives resembles a crescent moon, or a smile.
In 2011, the state-run railway agency contracted state-run Taiwan Rolling Stock Co (TRSC) to build 296 EMU800 commuter train carriages, with the first batch of 16 carriages to be built in Japan and the remainder to be built in Taiwan.
A dispute over what brake system to install in the new trains delayed the delivery of the first 16 carriages, which were supposed to arrive in September last year.
Lu said the first batch of carriages would be divided into two sets and would undergo a 90-day testing period after they arrive, adding that an independent third party would review the operation of the new trains to certify that they meet legal requirements, standards and users’ needs.
Lu said the new trains would help increase the administration’s transport capacity for commuters between Keelung and Hsinchu, which account for about 70 percent of its daily passenger volume. The new trains will also enable the TRA to retire some of its old trains and increase train services heading to the east coast after the section between Hualien and Taitung is electrified.
Because the new commuter trains are faster, Lu said that it is considering offering a commuter express service that would only make stops at bigger stations during peak hours.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS