In anticipation of the delivery of the first bullet trains from their Japan-ese manufacturer at the end of the month, high-speed railway authorities yesterday reiterated that construction was on schedule and that the service would be inaugurated by October of next year, as promised.
"Since we signed a contract with the government in July 1998, we've had to overcome many difficulties, but I trust that we will continue doing just that," said Nita Ing (殷琪), chairwoman of the Taiwan High Speed Railway Corp (THSRC).
According to THSRC officials, the first batch of bullet trains, 700T models manufactured by Japanese Kawasaki Heavy Industries, will be shipped from the factory in Kobe on May 18. The train cars are scheduled to arrive at Kaohsiung harbor on May 25, and to be transported to THSRC's main workshop in Kaohsiung to be assembled on May 29.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
Testing of the 12 cars will begin in September on tracks between the Tainan and Kaohsiung stations, a distance of roughly 60km.
However, the THSRC's fundraising woes have often raised questions as to whether the bullet-train service would be delayed. Ing said yesterday that in terms of funding, THSRC's five major shareholders still needed to put up another NT$14.5 billion before completion of the project. However, of the NT$7.5 needed before July, only NT$2.1 billion has been raised.
THSRC spokesman Edward Lin (林天送) said that the company had incurred additional costs unaccounted for in the original contract. He said the total cost of construction amounted to NT$464.8 billion for THSRC's account. Of that amount, NT$323.3 billion will be covered through bank loans and another NT$133.2 billion as free capital from stock sales. The remaining NT$9.3 billion, however, are additional costs that must be covered through selling shares.
Ing said that the company planned to hold a roadshow abroad at the beginning of next year in a bid to attract overseas investors.
In addition the company must also deal with an International Chamber of Commerce ruling last month which ordered it to pay US$73 million in compensation to a European business group.
However, the THSRC's plans go beyond the construction of trains and stations -- developing the areas around the stations is another component of a 50-year contract signed with the government.
"We are planning a total of five new towns, working with an area of about 1,500 hectares," said Charles Hseuh (
The land surrounding key stations, including Tainan, Hsinchu and Taoyuan, are to be transformed into new "town centers." The new towns will be geared towards increasing development in the area and will feature luxury hotels, shopping malls, Club Taiwan and even science parks.
The Hsinchu station will be the first to begin development of town centers, starting the bidding process for land use at the end of this year.
"It will take about 10 to 15 years for the development of these towns, and another 20 to 30 years for them to reach maturity," Hseuh said.
The bullet-train system runs north-south for 345km between Taipei and Kaohsiung. Running at a speed of up to 300kph, the trains will reduce travel time between the two cities to just 80 minutes.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS