Taiwan's first high-speed rail system will not start service at the end of next month as scheduled, as construction of its core mechanical and electrical system has fallen seriously behind schedule, the company managing the project said yesterday.
"We will announce the new timetable after a meticulous evaluation by our board members," said Ted Chia (
At the end of July, THSRC had completed 87.89 percent of the 345km track, 92 percent of station constructions and only 60.44 percent of the core mechanical and electrical system, which has become the major cause for the postponement, Chia said.
The core mechanical and electrical system may be completed only by September next year, according to a Chinese-language newspaper report. In addition, THSRC needs at least two months of trial operation and five months of inspection by the Taiwan High Speed Rail Bureau, under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. As a result, the high-speed railway may only be launched 18 months after the originally planned date.
While demanding that the Japanese-led Taiwan Shinkansen Corp (TSC, 台灣新幹線) -- contractor for the core mechanical and electrical system's construction -- accelerate production, THSRC also plans to demand that the Japanese consortium abide by the terms of the contract. According to the contract, in the event of falling behind schedule, TSC would have to pay THSRC NT$200 million per day in compensation and to cover interest losses until the construction is completed, a Chinese-language news report said yesterday.
The report also said that TSC has proposed additional terms when THSRC requested it to speed up construction.
The consortium of seven Japanese companies -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, Toshiba Corp, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, Mitsui & Co, Mitsubishi Corp, Marubeni Corp and Sumitomo Corp -- won the contract for this project in 2000.
The report, citing company supervisor Huang Che-hung (
Chia yesterday confirmed that TSC made additional requests, but said the content of the contract and the terms should remain confidential. Chia declined to comment on the amount of NT$200 million compensation per day, saying the number is merely an estimate touted by the media.
He did not comment on suggestions in the report that the postponement was ultimately the product of a long-standing disagreement between THSRC and TSC over certain technical problems associated with the core mechanical and electrical system. He said that the two companies are negotiating a solution to these problems.
Jack Hsu (許俊逸), a deputy director general of the Bureau of High Speed Rail, said the bureau has not yet received THSRC's formal notice about the postponement. He said the company needs to absorb the losses incurred by the delay itself, since it is a build-operate-transfer project.
According to the contract, THSRC needs to return the transportation facility to the government 35 years after the contract was signed in July 1998, Hsu said.
THSRC previously estimated that it can show ticket revenue of about NT$130 million per day during the initial stages of operation. Since the project has been delayed, it means it will now take longer for the company to break even.
The high-speed railway passed a 200kph test drive at the end of last month and is likely to have a successful 300kph test next month, Chia said.
This project marks the first use of Japan's Shinkansen system outside that country as well as the first time Japanese bullet trains have been exported.
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
The Taipei International Cycle Show (Taipei Cycle) yesterday opened at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, with the event’s organizer expecting a steady recovery in the industry this year following a tough last year. This year, 980 companies from 35 countries are participating in the annual bicycle trade show, showcasing technological breakthroughs and market development trends of the bicycle industry at 3,600 booths, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said in a statement. Under the theme “Ride the Revolution,” the exhibition has attracted more than 3,500 international buyers from 80 countries to preregister for the four-day event, which is expected to