Thinking about taking the MRT into Taipei today? Think again.
Taipei's mass rapid transit system is expected to be out of service for a second day today after Typhoon Nari flooded sections of the line linking Panchiao and Nankang.
But that's not expected to cause major headaches for the almost 1 million commuters who take the rails each day to jobs in the city. Government offices, schools and some businesses will remain closed today for a second day running.
"The whole MRT system was down today because of the typhoon. As for tomorrow's operations, it will depend on the extent by which the flood waters recede," said Lin Chi-yao (
"Because the flood waters are still there and it will take time to make checks and repairs, we don't expect services will return to normal in the short term."
The only line of the MRT system to resume operation today will be the elevated Mucha Line, scheduled to start around 7am.
Lin estimated the service interruption would result in lost ticket sales of more than NT$30 million. The spokesman said he would keep the public abreast of any changes.
Typhoon Nari also interrupted most of the nation's domestic flights yesterday. Services are expected to return to normal today except flights departing from Taipei, according to domestic airlines.
Far Eastern Air Transport, which canceled all domestic flights yesterday, said it would resume most of its operations today after 10am.
But "because of heavy flooding on the tarmac at Taipei's Sungshan Airport, we won't resume domestic flights departing from Taipei until 12pm," said Chen Yun-chuan (陳韻全), a Far Eastern spokeswoman.
Chen Ting-chieh (
But as of press time yesterday, UNI Airways wasn't able to say whether it would resume domestic flights for today.
Yesterday's heavy rainfall also caused the closure of most rail services along the west coast after the Taipei Railway Station was reportedly inundated by floodwaters.
"The underground platform at Taipei Railway Station was flooded yesterday and there are 28 places along the railway between Taipei and Sungshan and between Taipei and Ilan" that were also under water, said a Ministry of Transportation and Communications representative stationed at the Disaster Rescue Command Center. "There's no sign that railway travel will resume soon."
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers due to population decline, the minister of economic affairs said in Washington President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday. Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high-end manufacturing jobs by 2040, he said. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials are still calculating the precise number of workers that are needed, as it works on loosening immigration restrictions and creating incentives, Kuo said. Taiwanese firms operating factories in the US and other countries would