A new train timetable is to be released in October, due to the annual adjustment of schedules, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said yesterday, adding that an estimated 200 to 300 trains would be affected.
Construction of a railway overpass in Taichung and an underground section in Kaohsiung are soon to be completed, with operations on both to be launched in the middle and at the end of October respectively, it said.
As 12 new stations are to open with the new lines, it is necessary to publish a new schedule, which would be released on Oct. 12, it said.
Photo: Hou Cheng-hsu, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, two more stops in Hualien County are to be added to the Puyuma Express, it said.
Services in metropolitan areas in central and southern Taiwan would operate in a similar fashion to the MRT system in Taipei, the agency said.
In stations that multiple systems use, such as Taipei Main Station and Nangang Stations, passengers would be given enough time to transfer between them, it said.
In the past, passengers using some TRA services complained that they could not catch connecting high-speed rail trains because they were given only three minutes to transfer between two systems, it said.
The TRA said it would consider a proposal to increase daily west coast Puyuma Express services to at least four each way.
The sale of advance tickets for trains departing after Oct. 12 is to be suspended and it would announce on Sept. 6 when those sales would restart, it said.
The TRA said it is having trains and platforms renovated so that train floors and platforms are at the same level, with construction to be completed by 2022.
The work, which will enable passengers to access trains without having to climb steps, involve either elevating the platform height or removing steps on train cabins, it said.
Floors on carriages of Puyuma Express, EMU700 and EMU800 trains are 1.15m above the ground, which is the same height as the new platforms, it said.
However, other train models, including push-and-pull Tzuchiang express trains, Taroko Express trains, and EMU600 and EMU500 commuter trains would be remodeled, the administration said, adding that the work would be finished by 2020.
As EMU500 trains are to be remodeled soon, the TRA is to reduce the number of carriages on four trains in the north, with each train having eight instead of 12, it said.
It would also plans to increase the frequency of services to make up for the lack of capacity, it said.
Platform renovations are to be completed by 2022, the administration said.
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