Despite a surge in local COVID-19 cases, railway passengers can still eat and drink onboard, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday.
Wang was responding to questions on whether food and beverage consumption would be prohibited on Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) trains, as COVID-19 infections have risen dramatically since the beginning of this month.
Wang said the ministry has no plans to reimpose a ban.
Photo: CNA
“Railway passengers should still be allowed to eat and drink onboard as long as they observe disease prevention guidelines. Otherwise, people on four-and-a-half-hour or longer trips would be starving,” he said.
In other news, Wang denied that the TRA and THSRC would soon raise fares.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications last week approved THSRC’s proposal to raise the basic rate from NT$4.134 per passenger-kilometer (pkm) to NT$4.313 per pkm.
The adjustment, which was made in response to the rise in Taiwan’s consumer price index, would raise one-way fare from Taipei to Kaohsiung from NT$1,490 to NT$1,630.
Local Chinese-language media have reported that the TRA would follow suit, with the price for a one-way ticket from Taipei to Kaohsiung costing more than NT$1,000.
“THSRC is a publicly listed firm, and we will respect its board of directors’ decision. If the board votes to raise ticket prices, the pricing scheme would still have to be approved by the transport ministry, which holds 43 percent of the company’s shares,” Wang said.
There had been instances in which the board voted against a price hike, although the ministry had approved a basic rate hike.
Wang told a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee that he would ask the board directors representing the ministry to not support the plan to increase fares.
“The focus of the TRA’s reform is to enhance safety and service punctuality. Unless the TRA substantially improves on both fronts, we will not talk about plans to raise fares,” he said.
TRA Director-General Du Wei (杜微) said the agency has tasked a consulting firm to stipulate a new formula for calculating ticket prices, but it does not plan to raise fares at the moment.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS