The ultimate goal of reforming the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is to turn the government agency into a state-run corporation, Minister of Transportation and Communication Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday.
Wang made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee in Taipei, where he and new TRA Director-General Du Wei (杜微) briefed lawmakers about the details of reforming the nation’s oldest and largest railway agency, after a Taroko Express train derailed in Hualien on April 2, killing 49 people and injuring more than 200.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) and Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) asked Wang to elaborate on his pledge of “managing the railway agency like a corporation in three years.”
Photo: CNA
“That means turning the agency into a state-run corporation,” Wang told Chen.
Chunghwa Post, which was previously the Directorate-General of Posts, serves as the best example of how a government agency can be successfully transformed into a state-run corporation, Wang said.
Wang also told Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Andy Chiu (邱臣遠) about the specific goals he aims to achieve in the next three years.
“During the first year, I will focus on enhancing the safety of the TRA system and address its financial losses,” he said.
Wang said that his main task in the second year would be to communicate with TRA employees about turning the agency into a state-run corporation and stipulating an organization act legalizing such an establishment, adding that employees would not only see their salaries rise, but also gain more benefits after a corporation is established.
A state-run railway corporation would be officially established in the third year, he said.
In addition to Chunghwa Post, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has also established Taiwan International Port Corp (TIPC) and Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) to manage the nation’s commercial seaports and largest international airport.
Union members at the postal firm, TIPC and TIAC received an increase in salaries after becoming state-run company employees, Wang said.
“Members of the Taiwan Railway Labor Union were against the proposal of turning the TRA into a corporation because they thought it meant privatization. However, privatizing a railway agency is difficult, as it is a monopolistic service,” he said.
While Chunghwa Post employees receive an average year-end bonus equal to 4.4 months’ salary, TRA employees’ average bonus equals about 1.5 months’ salary, because it is a government agency, Wang said.
Once the agency becomes a state-run corporation, the railway service would be managed by a board of directors, who would have more flexibility and efficiency in deciding the direction the state-run company would take, he added.
Meanwhile, the railway agency has identified 33 problems at 204 construction sites for temporary track projects after a comprehensive inspection, Wang said, adding that it had temporarily suspended the projects for the inspection.
Most of the problems were related to improper parking of construction vehicles, he said.
The most serious problem concerned the stability of side slopes, which must be addressed by building retaining walls or applying slope coverage measures, he said.
As of yesterday, 27 problems had been addressed, Wang added.
“As the nation is entering the wet season next month, I have asked the Railway Bureau to double-check to see if problems are being addressed,” he said, adding that the bureau must finish the task by May 15.
The coast guard on Friday took a Chinese fishing boat and the 17 people on board into custody, after it rammed into a patrol boat while attempting to flee. A 100-tonne coast guard vessel at about 8am discovered a Chinese fishing boat illegally operating in waters about 11 nautical miles (20.4km) northwest of Hsinchu, the Hsinchu offshore flotilla of the Coast Guard Administration said. The crew refused to allow law enforcement to board the ship and attempted to flee, it added. The coast guard vessel and another ship chased the fishing boat for about a half hour, during which time the Chinese boat
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday said he would not attend the official Double Ten National Day celebrations for the first time this year, as its English name, “Taiwan National Day,” implies “Taiwan independence.” Writing on Facebook, Ma said he has attended every National Day celebration since entering public service 40 years ago, but “with an exceedingly heavy heart,” has decided to reject this year’s invitation. For the past three years, the government under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has used “Taiwan National Day” for the event’s official English-language title, leaving the “Republic of China” nowhere to be found, he said. The move
RUNWAY UPGRADES: Airports and ports mainly scattered around southwestern Japan are being given major overhauls, primarily serving as civilian-use facilities Japan has chosen 33 airports and ports as candidates for improvement to enhance military capabilities, with a particular focus on infrastructure that could be utilized in a Taiwan emergency, according to a recent report in Japan’s Nikkei Shimbun. Citing the Japanese government’s fiscal budget proposal for next year, the newspaper said Toyko is to name some facilities as essential bases and receive funding for upgrades in line with the revamped national security strategy published last year. According to an unofficial policy document drafted last month and reviewed by the Nikkei, the Japanese government designated 14 airports and 19 ports for improvement, including
RSS