Taoyuan Metro Corp yesterday said it remains committed to launching the Taoyuan Airport Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system by the end of this year, adding that the Taoyuan Airport MRT has yet to reach Mass Rapid Transit Act (大眾捷運法) standards.
The government has been building the rail system since 1996. Three previous administrations set launch dates for the system, but these were postponed six times because of problems during construction and testing of the system.
Taoyuan Metro Corp, the designated operator of the airport MRT, yesterday held an emergency drill for Taipei Railway Station staff which included rescuing injured passengers and ensuring passengers move toward emergency exits and take connecting shuttle buses.
Company president Chen Kai-ling (陳凱凌) said the system must maintain a 99 percent reliability rating during testing for seven consecutive days to meet official launch criteria, as stated in the Mass Rapid Transit Act.
This particular criterion must be met before the company can apply for a formal inspection by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which can approve the launch of the system, Chen said.
The system currently maintains 99 percent reliability for three to four consecutive days, Chen said.
“The main problem has been signaling, which has not been reliable. The system has about 2,000 signal terminals and the errors from these signal terminals must be gradually reduced,” he said, adding that the MRT’s usability increased from 80 percent last year to 99 percent this year.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration had planned to launch the system in March. However, the MRT’s signaling mechanism contractor failed to meet contract requirements, including travel times and operating speeds, as well as intervals between trains. The ministry proposed to gradually improve operational speeds after the system is launched, so long as the system is proven to be safe.
However, the proposal was turned down by Taoyuan Metro Corp, postponing the launch for the sixth time.
After Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) took office on May 20, he formed a committee which spent two months investigating 4,522 incidents that were reported to have appeared during the testing of the airport MRT.
The committee proved that these problems were not related to operational safety.
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