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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS