Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) celebrated the arrival of its first batch of bullet trains at Kaohsiung Port yesterday.
"We're so excited about the coming of Taiwan's first high-speed trains, and we are confident that we can begin service as scheduled," THSRC chairwoman Nita Ing (殷琪) said during a ceremony at the port yesterday.
Two 700-T locomotives and 10 carriages arrived Monday night, with a combined length of 304m and combined weight of 503 tonnes. The units left Kobe, Japan, on May 18.
PHOTO: JESSIE HO, TAIPEI TIMES
The company has ordered 30 sets of bullet trains from Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
The second batch of trains is expected to arrive in July, and the remaining 28 sets are expected by September next year, THSRC spokesman Edward Lin (
THSRC will showcase one locomotive in the Hsiaokang District of Kaohsiung City tonight and transport the carriages to its main workshop in Yenchao township, Kaohsiung County, to be assembled on Saturday.
THSRC plans to start a yearlong trial in September on 60km of track between Tainan and Kaohsiung.
If the test goes smoothly, the white bullet trains with orange stripes will begin service between Taipei and Kaohsiung at the end of October next year and will boast speeds of up to 300kph.
Travel time between the two cities would be 90 minutes, while the Taipei-Taichung route would take 46 minutes.
While the 345km line is 60 percent complete and the main infrastructure 99 percent finished, there are concerns about whether the company has enough capital to finish the NT$513 billion railway.
Last year THSRC initiated a NT$21.7 billion fundraising plan, which would sell preferred shares with a guaranteed 9.5 percent dividend for the first two years. Ing said earlier this month that the company had raised only NT$2.9 billion.
Given the lukewarm response, the company is considering opening up the share sale to overseas investors, Ing said yesterday.
THSRC plans to raise NT$7.5 billion by July, NT$10.2 billion by September, and another NT$10 billion by November.
China Steel Corp (
"This is a good investment ... the risk of the investment dwindles with the completion of the project," China Steel chairman Lin Wen-yuan (
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS