The number of high-speed rail passengers hit a record-high 73.03 million last year due to a strong recovery in railway travel following the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said yesterday.
The increase in demand for high-speed rail services translated to NT$49.8 billion (US$1.6 billion) in revenue last year, an all-time record, THSRC business senior vice president Calvin Yen (顏昭立) told reporters
Meanwhile, pretax net profit reached NT$9.7 billion, the highest since the high-speed rail company began operations in 2007.
Photo: CNA
Aside from commuters and business travelers, the high-speed rail operator attracted 4.02 million passengers last year who boarded for tourism purposes, Yen said.
In response to the robust growth in ridership, the company increaseed its weekly train services from 1,039 last year to 1,060 this year, he added.
“However, we have noticed that the average daily passenger volume during the Lunar New Year holiday was about 310,000, which has returned to normal,” he said.
Despite significant growth in passenger volume and revenue, the operational costs of high-speed rail services also increased last year, Yen said.
The system’s maintenance costs rose to NT$2.9 billion last year, up from NT$2.7 billion in 2022, while personnel costs jumped 19 percent to NT$6.2 billion last year, Yen said.
Taiwan Power Co’s electricity fee adjustment last year increased the company’s electricity expenses by NT$300 million annually.
The state-run power firm on Monday announced that an overall price hike is expected in April.
Asked whether the company is planning to raise ticket prices given the rising costs, Yen said that any adjustment in ticket price would require taking into account various factors as well as approval from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
“We would first assess how a ticket price adjustment could affect the public before making any proposal,” he said.
Any new discounts available to THSRC members would be to maximize revenue, rather than to reduce it, Yen said.
“While discounts might increase the number of passengers accessing the high-speed rail and ease the congestion in peak hours by moving some of the passengers to off-peak hours, there might be a decline in revenue if discounts do not lead to a significant rise in passengers,” Yen said, adding that it would review the discounts available to THSRC members.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS