The High-Speed Rail is to have fewer trains running weekly from May 18 to June 23, as demand continues to fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp said on Friday.
The weekly number of trains is to be cut by 147, the company said, after announcing last month that weekly services would be reduced by 41 trains from yesterday to June 21.
The latest adjustment represents a 18.5 percent decline in weekly trains, down from 1,016 trains.
Despite the reduction, the company said it would ensure reliable travel, with six trains per hour during peak travel times and three to four trains per hour during off-peak times.
Full service is to resume before the Dragon Boat Festival holiday from June 25 to June 28, the company said, adding that before then, services would follow demand.
The company has seen a drastic decrease in demand since February, with passenger volume last month declining 40 percent from a year earlier.
To prevent the spread of the virus, the company assured passengers that it cleans the trains and screens for people with a fever.
All 12 stations are equipped with infrared thermometers to check the temperatures of passengers boarding the trains.
Those with a temperature of more than 37.5°C are not allowed to board and receive a full ticket refund, it said.
The stations are disinfected every two hours, as are the carriages whenever a train arrives at its destination, the company added.
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