The much-anticipated Airport Rail from Taipei to Taoyuan is scheduled to begin trial operation next year, the Bureau of High Speed Rail said yesterday.
Last year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications finalized the launch date for the Airport Rail as the end of next year after several postponements.
The bureau’s acting director general Allen Hu (胡湘麟) said yesterday that 91.77 percent of the construction has been completed.
Testing began last month in one of the route’s six sections, with the final section from Sanchung (三重) to Taipei to be tested in October, Hu said.
“Testing is to be completed by the beginning of next year, when we will give the system to the Taoyuan Metro Corp for a one-year-long trial operation. The entire route is scheduled to be launched by the end of next year,” he said.
“Based on our Taipei MRT system experience, one year is needed to address any problems before official operations begin,” Hu added.
The express train from Taipei to Taoyuan is expected to take 35 minutes, with the regular service taking about 50 minutes.
Previously, the bureau had recommended that express train tickets cost NT$160 and regular service tickets cost NT$80.
However, the final ticketing scheme will be decided by the Taoyuan Metro Corp, when it takes over operations.
Hu said the bureau had agreed to compensate the Taoyuan Metro Corp as a result of construction delays, adding that the bureau is to seek compensation from the construction contractor.
The bureau has purchased 28 new train sets, comprising 11 for express services and 18 for regular services.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it