The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday said that it has budgeted NT$158 million (US$4.68 million) for the repair and restoration of the Tainan Railway Station, with work scheduled to begin in September.
The station was established in 1900, but its main building was not built until 1936. The Ministry of Culture designated the station a national historic site in 1998.
More than 25,000 people pass through the station daily, the TRA said.
Photo: CNA
Repairs are needed because of a water leak in the ceiling of the station lobby, but all restoration and repair work has to following the guidelines in the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法), the agency said.
The restoration project also includes the station staff office, platforms and railway police post, and is scheduled to take three years.
During the Japanese colonial era, the station’s second floor was a railway hotel, the only one in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that the hotel had eight rooms and a restaurant with kitchen.
The second floor has been closed to the public for many years and has been severely damaged by pests.
The agency said it wants to restore the station facilities as much as possible to their 1936 state and reopen the hotel and restaurant.
The TRA has also budgeted NT$24.90 million to fix the Shanjia Station, which the New Taipei City Government has designated an historic site. The work is scheduled to be completed in August.
Three stations along the Neiwan branch line (內灣支線) in Hsinchu County are also being renovated, at a cost of NT$58 million, with work due to be completed by the end of the year. The line was constructed to serve the logging industry.
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