The Xiaobitan line of Taipei's mass rapid transit (MRT) system opened yesterday amid protests from a small number of residents over noise.
Holding placards reading "MRT is a bad neighbor," 10 protesters claiming to represent people living along the route attempted to hand a letter of protest to Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
PHOTO: CHEN TSEH-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
An embarrassed Ma promised he would order the Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) to address the problem.
PHOTO: CHEN TSEH-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Noise protest
The promise, however, failed to satisfy People First Party Legislator Cheng San-yuan (
Cheng said that Ma's reputation would plummet and threaten his bid to run for the presidency in 2008 unless the Taipei City Government solved the noise problem.
Lo, meanwhile, asked the city government to offer a 50-percent discount for MRT rides by students and staff of schools in the neighborhood to compensate for their "suffering."
According to Chang Chi-te (常岐德), commissioner of DORTS, a series of soundproofing projects are under way along the line and will help reduce the noise.
While sound-muffling walls have been built at the opening to the underground section of the line, construction of similar walls on the elevated section will only start in November and is expected to be finished in April next year, Chang said.
4,140 passengers/hour
The 1.9-km line connects Xiaobitan Station to Qizhang Station on the Xindian Line and has a capacity of 4,140 passengers per hour, DORTS officials said.
The interval between trains is eight minutes to 12 minutes during peak hours, 12 to 15 minutes during the off peak hours , and 15 to 20 minutes before 7am and after 10pm.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
RSS