The Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line began trial runs yesterday, with free rides being offered to the public in two phases over the course of one month before commercial operations begin on March 2, Taoyuan Metro Corp said.
In the first phase, which is to run through Feb. 15, group passengers who apply in advance are to be allowed to travel for free between 8am and 4pm, the company said
During this phase, passengers are to be restricted to boarding and disembarking at only six of the 21 stations, which do not include the two stations serving Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, it added.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
The six stations are Taipei Main Station (A1), New Taipei Industrial Park Station (A3), Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Station (A8), Shanbi Station (A10), Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station (A18) and Huanbei Station (A21), or north link, the company said.
In the second phase, which is to start on Feb. 15 and run through March 1, a daily maximum of 40,000 free rides between 8am and 4pm will be offered to individual passengers who obtain numbered tags at the stations at 7:40am, 9:40am, 11:40am and 1:40pm, the company said, adding that passengers will have access to all 21 stations during this phase.
Although luggage check-in services for airport passengers will be available at Taipei Main Station during the second phase, outbound passengers are advised not to use it until the line’s commercial operations begin on March 2.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
The first trial run traveled from Huanbei Station to Taipei Main Station, with Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) and Taoyuan City Council Speaker Chiu Yi-sheng (邱奕勝) leading about 160 local officials and residents aboard the new train.
Some people who rode the line described it as “the pride of Taoyuan,” while expressing hope that it would be profitable.
However, others said they felt uncomfortable during the journey on a windy section between Huanbei Station and Airport Terminal 2.
After the MRT starts commercial operations, passengers will be offered a 50 percent discount on all trips during the first month, the company said, adding that the trains will run from 6am to 11pm every day.
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS