Chang Chieh-wen (張潔文), a commissioner at the National Civil Service Institute's Mid-Island Campus, yesterday became the 10 millionth passenger to use the high speed rail, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) said.
Chang, 50, who makes her home in Chung Hsing New Village, Nantou County, said she only learned the news after boarding a high speed train at Taichung bound for Taipei at 7:38am.
She said she had asked others to book three tickets for herself and two colleagues on Sept. 18, adding that she was surprised to hear that she was the 10 millionth passenger.
Chang said that when she arrived at the Taichung station, she saw a lot of vehicles from TV stations around and thought that she was going to travel with some important figures.
She said she never expected to be the star attraction herself.
"I'm so happy. I feel like I've won the lottery," Chang said.
THSRC vice president Ted Chia (
The other passengers traveling in Chang's carriage received a 10 millionth passenger memorial key ring, Chia said.
He said that after selling the 10 millionth ticket on Sept. 18, the THSRC had set up life-size human figures at both the Taichung and Taipei stations with information to notify the holder of the ticket that they were the 10 millionth passenger, adding that the company did not find out who the 10 millionth passenger was until yesterday morning.
The high speed railway was formally inaugurated on Jan. 5. It reached the 5-million-passenger mark on May 28. The company had originally estimated that the 10 million mark would not be reached until the latter half of next month.
Chia said that the high speed railway currently carried around 1.5 million people per month, adding that in order to enhance its services, the THSRC has increased the number of trains from 38 per day to 91 per day.
The company is considering further increasing the number of trains from November, he said.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
CHIP SUBSIDY: The US funding would help alleviate the financial pressure from building two fabs in the US and should lift gross margins in 2026, the company said GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it is to receive US$406 million in subsidies from the US Department of Commerce for two new US fabs under the CHIPS and Science Act, with the first batch of the funds likely coming next year. The grant represents 10 percent of the planned investments of US$4 billion in advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities in Texas and Missouri, GlobalWafers said. The commerce department is to disburse the funds based on the completion of project milestones over a multiyear timeframe, the company said. Along with the tax credit, which is equal to
RSS