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.
A domestically developed “suicide drone,” also known as a loitering munition, would be tested and evaluated in July, and could enter mass production next year, Taiwan’s weapons developer said on Wednesday. The yet-to-be-named drone was among nine drone models unveiled by the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on Tuesday. The drone has been dubbed the “Taiwanese switchblade” by Chinese-language media, due to its similarity to the US-made AeroVironment Switchblade 300, which has been used by Ukraine in counterattacks during Russia’s invasion. It has a range of more than 10km, a flight time of more than 15 minutes, and an electro-optical
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number