Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) had a record deficit of NT$13.79 billion (US$418.1 million) in its first year of corporatization last year, the company said yesterday, adding that it planned to hold a meeting today to discuss the potential of raising ticket fares.
The record deficit was due to additional employee welfare funds, underperforming ticket sales and lack of fare adjustments, it said.
Last year, the company anticipated a deficit of NT$7.4 billion, but by the end of December that number had increased to NT$12 billion.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
Yesterday it reported that the deficit was NT$13.79 billion.
TRC said it anticipated ticket revenue to be NT$18.5 billion, but the earthquake in Hualien County on April 3 last year impacted ticket sales.
Ticket revenue was NT$17.4 billion, it said.
Additionally, the company said it allocated NT$2.3 billion to employee welfare funds for the first time, as well as spending NT$200 million on transferring assets after corporatization.
Ticket prices have also remained the same for 30 years, which had a negative impact on operational losses, it added.
The number of employees steadily increased from 13,851 in 2017 to 15,924 in 2023, with labor costs reaching NT$16.8 billion, it said.
Labor costs have risen due to increases in night shift pay and hazard pay, it added.
TRC has been operating at an annual deficit of more than NT$10 billion since 2021.
The annual deficit was NT$11.9 billion in 2021, NT$11.1 billion in 2022 and NT$11.4 billion in 2023.
The company anticipates a deficit of NT$8.69 billion and ticket revenue of NT$18.79 billion this year, it said.
The company management hopes to adjust ticket prices to increase ticket revenue and decrease the deficit, it said.
The management team’s fare adjustment proposal must first be approved by the board of directors and then be submitted to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications for review.
After that, the proposal must be approved by the Executive Yuan.
The management team submitted a fare adjustment proposal to the board of directors in September last year, but the board requested additional information.
The board is expected to discuss the team’s second proposal today.
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