The Taipei City Government yesterday announced it would suspend operations on the Muzha-Neihu Line in the morning today and tomorrow for a system inspection.
The line is to be closed from 6am to 11am today and tomorrow, with free shuttle buses running between the line’s stations until 12pm, Taipei City Secretariat Deputy Director Tan Gwa-guang (譚國光) said, in his role as director of the Neihu-Muzha Line emergency response team.
Yang Chin-shu (楊金樹), chief secretary of the Transportation Department’s public transportation division, said that free Red Line shuttle buses run between Linguang Station and Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Station, while Green Line buses run between Taipei Zoo Station and Songshan Airport Station.
Tan said the decision to shut the line was made in accordance with a first-phase system improvement plan presented by system builder Bombardier Inc.
The company asked for a longer period of time to inspect the system and solve its problems, which include an overly sensitive safety system that has caused frequent false alarms and malfunctions.
“We hope the public will support our improvement plan and be tolerant during the two days,” Tan said.
The city government chose to test the system today and tomorrow because it carries fewer passengers during those periods, he said.
The announcement was made after Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) acknowledged on Thursday that problems with the system were more serious than previously thought and that the city government would consider suspending the Muzha-Neihu MRT line for a thorough inspection.
Tan said the second-phase improvement plan would include strengthening the system’s resistance to lightning strikes.
Tan declined to comment on whether the city government would still consider halting operations on the line for a longer period of time, but said it would prioritize the interests of passengers when discussing possible solutions.
Bombardier has proposed a comprehensive improvement plan to raise the system’s reliability to 99 percent by mid-November, Tan said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS