The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) yesterday said it is seeking restitution from Marubeni Corp, the contractor working on the signaling system of the Airport Rail, as the slow progress in testing has caused the delay of the launch of the railway system.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Jian-yu (陳建宇) made the statement at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which was scheduled to review the budget for the High Speed Rail-Related Construction Fund for the next fiscal year.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said that the ministry had planned to launch the Airport Rail in 2013, but it later postponed the start until the end of this year, which has been postponed again.
Yeh said that Taoyuan Metro Corp, which was set up by the Taoyuan City Government two years ago as the operator of the Airport Rail, has suffered NT$2.8 billion (US$85 million) in losses because of the delay.
The nation will suffer further losses, as the Airport Rail is now not set to open until March or June next year, Yeh said, adding that the contract between the Bureau of High Speed Rail and the contractor capped a possible breech of contract penalty at NT$2.5 billion.
Bureau Director-General Allen Hu (胡湘麟) said that the contractor is facing a fine of about NT$2.5 billion for the delays testing the signaling system, which is to be deducted from its payment.
Chen said that the government could seek additional compensation through civil suits from the contractor based on the actual losses caused by the delayed launch of the Airport Rail.
The government could seek a restitution of up to NT$5 billion from the contractor, including fines, Chen said.
In other news, Chen said that Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp has obtained permits for three newly established Miaoli, Changhua and Yunlin stations, and the three stations are to officially begin operations on Dec. 1.
Passengers can book tickets for trains departing on Dec.1 as of Wednesday next week, he said.
With three new train stations added to the high-speed rail route, the timetable has to change accordingly, and the new timetable takes effect on Dec. 1, increasing the number of weekly trains from 954 to 964.
Currently, 356 express trains stop each week at Taipei, Banciao, Taichung and Tsoying (Kaohsiung). Starting Dec. 1, 74 of these express trains are to stop at Chiayi and Tainan as well. The number of trains stopping at the four main stations would be reduced to 252 per week.
According to the high-speed rail operator, 224 trains will stop at each of the 11 stations on the route. The remaining services are to operate in four different routes.
First, trains will go from Banciao direct to Taichung, then stop at every station there after.
Second trains will skip Miaoli, Changhua and Yunlin and stop at eight other stations.
The third and fourth routes are to function more like commuter trains, with one serving only the stations between Taipei and Taichung and the other stopping only at stations between Taichung and Tsoying.
The travel time for the fastest express high speed rail train service is 96 minutes, and the slowest train service will take 138 minutes, the company said.
As part of commitments made by the company to lawmakers to secure approval for financial restructuring, passengers traveling after Dec. 1 would be able to book tickets at pre-2013 price hike rates.
The cost of a one-way ticket from Taipei to Kaohsiung will drop from NT$1,630 to NT$1,490.
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