The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday warned that people who buy and sell train tickets, including for the Puyuma Express service, for a profit face tougher penalties after the amended Railway Act (鐵路法) took effect last month.
The launch of the electrified railway line service between Hualien and Taitung at the end of last month has not only made it possible for passengers of the Puyuma Express — the tilting train service — to travel all the way from Taipei to Taitung without having to switch trains in Hualien, it has also shortened travel time from 4.5 hours to 3.5 hours.
However, many Taitung County residents have complained that it was difficult for them to book tickets because of scalpers, local media reports said.
Ticket scalpers have been found on Facebook, among other media platforms, claiming they can help travelers purchase all types of tickets for travel between Taipei and Taitung — including for the Puyuma Express — as long as they pay an additional 5 percent as booking fee, reports said.
The TRA said that these sellers have violated the Railway Act by reselling the tickets for profit.
The revised act states that scalpers are to be fined 10 times the ticket price. They may also face a fine of up to NT$500,000 if they are found to have used computer programs that allow them to conduct massive ticket bookings.
The agency added that it is still conducting trial operations of the electrified service, which will end on Tuesday.
It will introduce a new train schedule on Wednesday, with transport capacity for the express train service between Taipei and Taitung increasing by 18 percent during weekdays and by 40 percent during holidays.
Commenting on the difficulties of securing tickets, the agency said that tourism on the east coast is booming because of active marketing by both the public and private sectors, with tourists accounting for 65 percent of the passenger volume in the summer. Despite the demand, the agency has limited ticket sales to tour groups to 20 to 30 percent for each train service.
The agency said it has allocated more seats for passengers to Taitung on all trains traveling from Taipei to Taitung, while most of the remaining seats will be used to serve passengers traveling from Hualien to Taitung.
A quick check of the TRA’s booking system shows that there are still tickets for the Puyuma Express, except trains operating at peak hours, on Friday and Sunday next week.
The agency encouraged travelers to check online regularly for ticket availability, as some people may cancel their trip.
‘FRIENDSHIP FLEET’: A CGA official is scheduled to meet with the president of the Pacific nation, while one of the ships is to host a banquet and National Day event Two Coast Guard Administration (CGA) patrol vessels have docked at Malakal Harbor in Palau as part of an expedition exercise and diplomatic visit, during which a senior official is expected to meet with Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr, the agency said yesterday. The two vessels, the 4,000-tonne-class Chiayi and the 1,000-tonne-class Penghu, set sail for Palau from Taiwan last week and arrived on Tuesday at Malakal Harbor, the CGA’s Fleet Branch said in a statement. The journey marks the second time the CGA has dispatched a “friendship fleet” to another country, after it sent its first-ever goodwill fleet, comprising the Hualien and
A patrol vessel donated by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to the Philippines was commissioned into the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday, a Philippine non-governmental organization said. The CGA on Sept. 16 confirmed media reports that Taiwan had donated a retired 500-tonne patrol vessel to the Philippines. The Manila-based We Protect Our Seas (WPS) foundation, which served as an intermediary in the transfer, said that the vessel was formerly the CGA’s 500-tonne petrol vessel Kinmen (CG123). The WPS, in a statement issued on Friday, said the vessel, renamed as the BRP Sarangani, had been commissioned into the PCG the
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) today said that two of its patrol vessels have docked at Palau's Malakal Harbor as part of an expedition exercise and diplomatic visit, during which a senior official is expected to meet with the Palauan president. The two vessels, the 4,000-tonne-class Chiayi (嘉義) and the 1,000-tonne-class Penghu (澎湖), set sail for Palau from Taiwan last week and arrived at Malakal Harbor yesterday, the CGA's Fleet Branch said in a statement. The journey marked the second time the CGA has dispatched a "Friendship Fleet" to another country, after it sent its first-ever goodwill fleet, comprising the Hualien (花蓮)
Had I Not Seen the Sun (如果我不曾見過太陽), a coming-of-age mystery romance, yesterday won best series at the Seoul International Drama Awards in South Korea. The show's producer, Phoebe Ma (麻怡婷), accepted the award on behalf of the production team. "Telling this story was difficult," Ma said. "There were moments when I doubted my strength to keep going, but I never doubted the story itself." Ma went on to thank the cast and crew of the show for making the win possible. Released in two parts on Netflix at the end of last year, the 20-episode drama starred Tseng Jing-hua (曾敬驊) and Alice Ko (柯佳嬿). The
RSS