The Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp. (KRTC) yesterday moved one step closer to meeting its Sunday deadline to launch the operation of the MRT Orange Line.
Huang Yi-chung (黃一中), director of the KRTC’s Public Affairs Department, said the company had resolved five flaws discovered during an inspection of the line carried out by an ad hoc safety committee of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications on Monday and Tuesday.
The issues involved installing lighted signs above the emergency exits at station platforms, fixing non-functioning direct-line telephones, clarifying ticket price information on display at counters at Sizihwan Station and fixing jammed emergency exit doors at the junction point of the Red Line and Orange Line at the Formosa Boulevard Station.
Huang said the KRTC would issue a report on the improvements and expressed hope that the city government would pass it on to the ministry for safety certification as soon as possible.
The KRTC has not given up on launching services on the Orange Line on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but conceded that there was a lot to be done if the goal is to be achieved.
If the KRTC receives certification from the MOTC by tomorrow, it will be able to begin operation on Sunday, Huang said.
Lee Cheng-bin (李正彬), director of Kaohsiung’s Bureau of Rapid Transit Systems, said the municipal government would handle the matter immediately upon receiving the report.
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