A magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck off Hualien County yesterday morning has left railway and highway services in eastern Taiwan paralyzed, and it would take considerable time to restore them, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said.
Most railway and road traffic in the region has come to a standstill, and repairing the damage could be challenging due to ongoing aftershocks, Wang told reporters on the sidelines of a legislative hearing.
Some steps have already been taken to help people travel up and down the east coast, which is dominated by mountains and is essentially connected to northern Taiwan by one vulnerable road and a railway line that threads through mountainous terrain, he said.
Photo: AFP / Hualien County Fire Department
Taiwan Railway Corp said it aims to restore two-way operation from Yilan County to Hualien County by noon today.
The state-run railway company said in a statement yesterday evening that it was repairing damage along the line between Yilan County’s Suao Township (蘇澳) station and Hualien County’s Fonglin Township (鳳林) station, including landslides and buckled tracks.
The goal is to resume two-way operation on one side of the line by noon today, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Fire Bureau
As the Suhua Highway (part of Provincial Highway No. 9) has become inaccessible after the Dacingshuei Bridge (大清水橋) was destroyed, the railway operator said that it would increase 10 sets of commuter trains between Yilan and Hualien counties to carry travelers returning home from the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday weekend, which starts today.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is today to start a maritime transportation shuttle service connecting Yilan County’s Port of Suao and the Port of Hualien, while airlines are providing extra flights to the area, Wang said.
Mandarin Airlines yesterday operated one additional flight between Kaohsiung and Hualien and another flight between Taichung and Hualien. Uni Air operated one flight between Taipei and Hualien and is to operate another Taipei-Hualien flight today.
Still, it would be a challenge to rely on air transportation to get people in and out of the Hualien area, because of limited capacity exacerbated by the high demand from travelers during the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, which runs until Sunday, Wang said.
The Maritime and Port Bureau also worked with ferry operators to use the Taipei Express and the Taima Star to help ferry passengers and their vehicles between Port of Suao and Port of Hualien today.
The Highway Bureau was asked to increase shuttle bus services between the Suao railway station and the Port of Suao, and between the Hualien railway station and the Port of Hualien.
The Tourism Administration said it had reached an agreement with hoteliers in Hualien to help travelers cancel their reservations in the next three days.
Meanwhile, high-speed rail service has resumed normal operations after 44 trains were canceled and others were run at reduced speeds after the quake until 1pm.
It does not have a service to Taiwan’s east coast.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS