The reform of the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) has yet to bear any real fruit, despite attempts to straighten out the service for the past 30 years.
The past three decades have seen all manner of committees set up, while bandying around impressive-sounding words such as transformation, reconstruction, consolidation, separation of ownership and operatorship, corporatization and privatization.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is once again advocating restructuring through corporatization, saying that this would be completed in two years.
Who knows whether the ministry will be successful? One thing is certain: The project is doomed to fail unless specific matters are addressed.
First, the ministry must relinquish control of personnel appointments. It should not just change TRA directors and division superintendents simply because the minister is displeased for whatever reason. This task should be left to professional managers, with trained personnel allowed to deal with technical problems that arise.
In the case of major accidents, those responsible for the failings that resulted in such incidents should be dealt with accordingly, and the ultimate responsibility should be given in accordance with the law.
Second, the TRA’s debts should be written off. This debate has been going on for years, but current TRA personnel should no longer be held liable for the debt. It is a mystery why they have to wait until the TRA’s corporatization for its debt to be written off.
Third, the TRA needs room to make its own decisions. The organization is under the direct control of four government departments, in addition to legislators and local elected representatives, all of whom have a say in the agency’s affairs.
There are always plenty of supervisors and inspection briefings, but the officials in charge come and go, and they have little or no expertise in railway affairs. Those officials have proposed all sorts of “solutions,” but all administrative and operating procedures remain the same, which is of little help in effecting reform.
For example, when the engineering division sought to procure a track inspection car, it had to be reported to the Legislative Yuan, with the specifications changed many times. The acceptance check failed seven times, resulting in the TRA director-general being called in to negotiate for one more chance. Ten years later and there is still no sign of the needed track inspection car.
Fourth, the TRA should be given full authority to procure maintenance equipment and vehicles, and to schedule operations according to its business requirements.
The construction of major rail projects made with major state investment and the procurement of passenger cars and vehicles related to railway operations should still be controlled by the ministry.
Fifth, the TRA’s income comes from operating and non-operating revenue. Ticket sales are its main source of operating revenue, but it has no power to adjust train frequency and fares by itself, resulting in a paradox that the longer the service time, the cheaper the fare.
As for the much-anticipated non-operating revenue, including the revitalization and reuse of TRA’s old buildings, restrictions on the railway accounting system and administrative procedures get in the way of efficiency.
Those who have power over the agency should let go of that control. Once they loosen their tight grip, the TRA will have a chance to flourish.
Chen Honling is a civil engineer.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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