Passengers boarding the Puyuma Express from Taipei to Taitung from June 30 to July 4 will receive a 12 percent ticket discount to celebrate the launch of the electrified railway service between Hualien and Taitung.
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said yesterday that it is scheduled to begin a two-week trial for the general public on June 30.
During the trial, there will be four Puyuma Express services to Taitung each day.
Photo: Yu Tai-lang, Taipei Times
The 12 percent discount will only be available in the trial’s first five days. Bookings open on June 16.
The agency estimates that about 7,000 passengers will use the electrified service during the trial.
The administration said it expects full services to start on July 16, including more Puyuma Express train services dispatched daily.
Previously, people heading to Taitung were required to transfer to diesel-powered trains at Hualien Station.
TRA Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said that the agency will lower the price of diesel-power services, with a new pricing scheme expected next month.
Lawmakers on the legislature’s Transportation Committee suggested that the line should set different prices across the wide range of services that use it.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) said that the agency’s Tzuchinag Express train service uses seven different train models, some of them much older than others.
He said that the agency should replace older models with new ones, adding that people using the Tzuchiang Express trains that are more than 20 years old should be offered discounts.
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said that the agency should charge more on tickets for higher-speed services, while services with more stops should be priced more cheaply.
The new electrified railway route begins at Hualien Station and ends at Jiben (知本) Station in Taitung, a distance of about 166.1km.
DPP Legislator Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) said that the government should increase the number of reserved tickets for residents of Taitung County.
The TRA said the electrified line trains can travel at speeds of 110kph to 130kph and estimated that travel time between Taipei and Taitung can be reduced from five hours to three-and-a-half hours.
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
Taiwanese who have recently traveled to China for tourism, to visit friends or relatives or for business reasons have been interrogated, detained and faced other forms of unreasonable treatment from Chinese officials, a source said on Sunday. Among them was a Taiwanese who was detained for eight hours at an airport in China due to their research, which is related to religion, while others have had their travel documents for China canceled for a number of reasons, the source said. In July, China expanded the scope of its counterespionage law, and recently announced a draft amendment to the law on the protection