Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) today announced that train services on the Pingxi Line would be suspended until midnight on Sunday due to track bed erosion and slope movement caused by recent downpours.
Constant rainfall since early this week has led to frequent rockfalls and landslides along the seven-stop Pingxi Line between Sandiaoling (三貂嶺) and Jingtong (菁桐) in New Taipei City, the TRC said in a news release.
Photo copied by Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
The company said that slope movement occurred between Sandiaoling and Dahua stations, while about 100m of track bed was washed away between Wanggu and Lingjiao stations.
Following an on-site inspection by experts yesterday, the company decided that emergency slope reinforcement work would only begin once weather conditions stabilize.
Train services on the 12.9km Pingxi Line, known for its scenic landscape and historic stops, have been suspended since Monday after sections were reported prone to landslides due to continuous rainfall.
The latest announcement of service suspension came as Taiwan entered a three-day holiday marking Taiwan Retrocession Day tomorrow.
The TRC said that during the suspension period, a bus replacement service would run between all stops along the rail line, including Ruifang, Shifen, Wanggu, Lingjiao, Pingxi and Jingtong stations, operating in a round-trip manner.
Bus departure times from Ruifang are 7:10am, 9:10am, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm; and from Jingtong Station at 8:10am, 10:10am, 3pm, 5:10pm and 7pm.
In addition, from Monday next week to Nov. 30, train services on the entire Pingxi Line would be replaced with a shuttle bus on weekdays (Monday to Friday).
On weekends (Saturday and Sunday), trains would operate between Rueifang (瑞芳) and Shifen (十分), while buses would run between Shifen and Jingtong, the TRC said yesterday.
The company advised passengers to check the latest train service updates on its official Web site, through its 24-hour customer service hotlines (02-2191-0096 or 0800-765-888) or at nearby stations before traveling.
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