A proposal by Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp, the operator of the nation’s high-speed rail, to increase the maximum number of train trips that can be made on special high-load days to 210 a day passed an environmental impact -assessment yesterday.
The Environmental Protection Administration gathered environmental impact assessment specialists to discuss the impact of increasing the number of runs on high-load days, such as during Lunar New Year or on election day.
A previous assessment had set a limit of 175 runs a day.
In addition to evaluating noise pollution and carbon emissions, the specialists assessed land subsidence along the high-speed rail line, especially in Yunlin and Changhua counties.
Taiwan High Speed Rail said subsidence resulted from structural aspects that had already been evaluated before construction, adding that no irregular or unexpected subsidence had been observed over the past four years.
The company agreed to continue monitoring subsidence if the number of trains are increased.
The specialists told the panel they all agreed that adding to the number of trains would have a positive impact by reducing carbon emissions and that the immediate threat of land subsidence remained unproven and required further monitoring.
However, the specialists asked the company to provide clear and specific measures on how it intends to monitor the environmental impact if the numbers of train trips is increased to more than 175 per day.
The specialists asked the operator to provide a clear definition of “high-load days” to better regulate when adding train trips might be permitted.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
RSS