The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is to incur a financial loss topping NT$7.492 billion (US$233.89 million) after it is officially corporatized in January next year, based on a budget it submitted to the legislature.
The agency’s estimated business revenue for the 2024 fiscal year is NT$34.452 billion, while business expenditure would reach NT$41.944 billion, the agency said.
The loss would be a 60.33 percent increase from NT$2.819 billion budgeted for fiscal 2023, it said.
Photo: Huang Mei-chu, Taipei Times
The TRA said that the expected increase is because the soon-to-be-established railway company would bear additional financial burdens during its first year of operations:
First, a 4 percent pay raise for all workers would increase expenditure by NT$600 million, it said.
Second, 1.5 percent of state-owned Taiwan Railway Co’s capital would be allocated to establish employee welfare funds, costing about NT$1.2 billion in total, it said.
Third, the new company would assume losses of NT$1 billion due to asset depreciation and amortization, the TRA said.
“As a public facility, the TRA is tasked with serving society and must not run a profit-oriented operation,” it said. “However, the agency has had a severe funding shortage, as train ticket prices have been kept low and it can no longer cover the costs.”
“The agency’s ability to pay short-term debts is inadequate and it must carry a heavy interest burden as well,” it said.
The TRA has had some relief, with the government paying its interest obligations for the TRA’s employee pension fund and derivative debts, it said.
The state has also subsidized its less-profitable railway services, including stations with low use rates, it said.
The TRA said that losing customers who prefer high-speed services for long-distance travel was inevitable, but it is finding ways to replace that lost revenue.
The TRA is to offer “Intercity MRT services” on the west coast by increasing commuter train services and working with other public transit operators to offer train passengers seamless transfers between services, it said.
With complete electrification of railway services across Taiwan to be finished soon, the TRA plans to increase ridership to the east coast by working with tour operators, it said.
Other plans include an increase in freight services and participation in urban development plans to profit from its properties, the agency said.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS