The name of a train depot in Pingtung County should be changed to highlight that the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) western main line begins there, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday at the site’s opening ceremony.
At the new Kaohsiung Railway Workshop Depot, which was relocated to Pingtung’s Chaojhou Township (潮州), only 18 workers are needed to service a train within just 40 minutes, Su said.
At the old depot, 156 employees worked 12-hour shifts, he added.
Photo: CNA
Streamlined train maintenance work improves service at the agency, which transports about 200 million passengers a year, Su said.
The TRA said in a news release that the depot was moved to Chaojhou at a cost NT$134.8 billion (US$4.54 billion) because the Kaohsiung City Government is planning to move all railways in the city underground.
The new depot has the TRA’s largest repair capability, and is the most technologically advanced and environmentally friendly of all its depots, Su said.
Its material management information system enables standardized, digitized repairs of tourism and normal trains, Su said.
The TRA is planning to set up a railway culture park around the depot’s retention pond, hoping that the depot would also serve as a tourist site.
Su said he hopes the depot would be a boon for Pingtung’s tourism sector.
The planned corporatization of the TRA would also help create jobs in the area, Su said, thanking the agency’s employees who support the planned reform.
“The move will bring back the glory days of the TRA and once again make its employees proud to be working for the organization,” Su said.
Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said the depot’s railway culture park would hopefully attract tourists to the area, where they can also visit the Chao Hao Wan Playground (潮好玩幸福村).
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