Taiwan and India yesterday in Chiayi signed a letter of intent to cooperate over railway heritage, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India director James Tien (田中光) and Sriharan Madhusudhanan, director of the India-Taipei Association, signed the letter on behalf of their respective governments.
The ministry said that Taiwan and India each constructed mountain railways in the late 19th century and early 20th century, including the Alishan Forest Railway in Chiayi and systems such as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Kalka Shimla Railway and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway in India.
Photo: CNA
Through the letter the two nations would further engage in cooperation for the protection, safeguarding and management of their mountain railway heritage, the ministry said.
The letter is the third bilateral document signed by Taiwan and India this year, following an air services agreement and a memorandum of understanding on agricultural cooperation.
The letter is part of the Taipei’s “new southbound policy” of sharing resources and promoting cultural exchanges and cooperation with nations in Southeast Asia, as well as India, New Zealand and Australia.
The letter will advance the tourism industries in Taiwan and India, the ministry said.
Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁) said that UNESCO has registered five railways as world heritages, all of which are alpine railways and three of which are in India.
The council will learn from India’s experience in a bid to push for the Alishan Forest Railway to be included among the world heritage sites, Weng said.
The ceremony was held in conjunction with celebrations to mark the 104th anniversary of the beginning of operations on the Alishan route.
The railway was opened in 1912, initially running from Chiayi to Erwanping Station, but was extended to Alishan Station on Dec. 25, 1914.
Although originally constructed for logging, the railway is today primarily a tourist attraction, with unique Z-shaped switchbacks, tunnels and wooden bridges.
The Alishan railway climbs to 2,200m above sea level, making it the only rail service of its kind in Taiwan.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS