The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday introduced its first science fiction-themed train, featuring two “visitors from outer space desperate to travel on Taiwan’s tracks.”
TRA Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said the train, called “Evolution No. 1001,” was remodeled from the one previously used by the agency’s directors to inspect railway routes, or serve as a temporary command center when the nation experienced a major natural disaster or catastrophic traffic accident.
The train’s registration number is DSC100l and its nickname is “TRA One,” after the name of the well-known presidential carrier Air Force One.
Photo: CNA
He said the remodeled locomotive would initially operate on branch lines in Pingsi (平溪), Neiwan (內灣) and Jiji (集集).
Inspired by the train’s registration number, the two “aliens” have been named “Mr Ten” and “Miss One.”
They were created by designer Akibo Lee (李明道), who wanted to tell the story of aliens trying to find a place to settle down by going on a railway tour.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
“I am a father myself and I hope that more parents would take their children to travel with the aliens,” he said.
Mr Ten has a huge head containing all the maps to other galaxies, while Miss One has an antenna that is able to locate delicious food, Lee said. The couple have been traveling around the universe as backpackers, working to pay their dues.
They chose to travel to Earth this time and fell in love with Taiwan, Lee said.
The couple were particularly impressed by the railway system in Taiwan and decided to take a part-time job at the TRA, he said.
The alien couple can be seen on the exterior of the train as well as on restroom doors, no-smoking signs, wallpaper and seat headrest covers.
The railway operator will also sell memorabilia featuring images of the aliens, including lunch bags, lunch boxes and backpacks.
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai