The first two sets of EMU800-model commuter trains are scheduled to arrive from Japan at the end of next month, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said yesterday, adding that the new trains would become operational before the Lunar New Year holiday.
The nation’s largest railway operator yesterday unveiled photographs of the new trains at its headquarters at Taipei Railway Station.
TRA Deputy Director-General Lu Chieh-shen (鹿潔身) said the new trains can operate at speeds of up to 130kph. The maximum speed of the commuter trains currently in use is 110kph.
Lu said the trains’ seat covers are woolen. While the law only requires 15 percent of the seats on a train to be designated as priority seating, he said that 25 percent of the seats on the new train are priority seats.
The first and the eighth cabins of the new trains can be used by cyclists traveling with their bicycles, with each cabin able to accommodate eight bicycles at a time.
The exteriors of the new commuter trains are decorated in silver, blue and yellow. The yellow line on the front of the locomotives resembles a crescent moon, or a smile.
In 2011, the state-run railway agency contracted state-run Taiwan Rolling Stock Co (TRSC) to build 296 EMU800 commuter train carriages, with the first batch of 16 carriages to be built in Japan and the remainder to be built in Taiwan.
A dispute over what brake system to install in the new trains delayed the delivery of the first 16 carriages, which were supposed to arrive in September last year.
Lu said the first batch of carriages would be divided into two sets and would undergo a 90-day testing period after they arrive, adding that an independent third party would review the operation of the new trains to certify that they meet legal requirements, standards and users’ needs.
Lu said the new trains would help increase the administration’s transport capacity for commuters between Keelung and Hsinchu, which account for about 70 percent of its daily passenger volume. The new trains will also enable the TRA to retire some of its old trains and increase train services heading to the east coast after the section between Hualien and Taitung is electrified.
Because the new commuter trains are faster, Lu said that it is considering offering a commuter express service that would only make stops at bigger stations during peak hours.
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight