Holiday traffic advisory unveiledThe Ministry of Transportation and Communications has issued a series of measures and recommended transportation routes to ensure smoother traffic during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday starting on Saturday next week.
The usual measures — traffic control, priority for high-occcupancy vehicles, ramp closures and allowing vehicles to drive on the shoulder — would be implemented, the ministry said.
All lanes are to be toll-free from midnight to 5am from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, it said.
Photo: Taipei Times
To alleviate peak traffic congestion, southbound travelers using the freeways from Jan. 29 to Jan. 31 are advised to embark on their journey before 6am or after 12pm, while motorists heading north from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 should leave their homes before 9am, it said.
Residents in central Taiwan driving north from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 should also leave their homes before noon, it added.
Southbound travelers on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) from Jan. 29 to Jan. 31 should leave before 5am or after 5pm, while northbound travelers from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 should leave their homes before 9am, it said.
The ministry is also implementing a “buses first” policy at select points on Provincial Highway No. 9 and restricting passage for freight vehicles with loads of 21 tonnes or above and those transporting dangerous materials on highways.
The on-ramp to Provincial Highway No. 61 at the intersection of Jhubei City’s (竹北) Singang 3rd Street and Sibin Road in Hsinchu County would be closed, and no left turns would be allowed on the ramp on Provincial Highway No. 68’s westbound Nanliao section connecting it to the southbound Provincial Highway No. 15, it said.
The northbound on-ramp from Provincial Highway No. 61 connecting to Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) and six junctions along Jhunan Road would be closed from noon to midnight from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.
The ministry added that Taiwan High Speed Railway Corp (台灣高鐵) is to increase the number of northbound trains by 175 and southbound trains by 205, for a total of 380 trains per day and 2,258 trains over the Lunar New Year period.
Taiwan Railway Corp (台鐵) is to provide an additional 326 train services throughout the Lunar New Year period, it said.
Airlines are to offer 3,210 additional flights during the holiday, including 2,774 for travel to and from outlying islands, it said.
Shipping companies are to provide a total of 1,429 ferry services across all eight routes to outlying islands during the holiday, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, to facilitate travel abroad during the holiday, the Taoyuan Metro Corp (桃園大眾捷運) yesterday said that it would add more direct train services between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei Main Station at 5am and 5:30am from Friday to Feb. 2.
The additional trains would service more than 600 passengers daily, with the ride taking only 35 minutes, it said.
In compliance with the new policy, the Taipei Main Station’s airport metro line will be open to the public starting at 4:30am daily during the Lunar New Year period, and passengers will be able to check in for their flights at the station, it said.
The metro line at the airport will also start operations at 5am each day, the company said, adding that the trains would slow down when entering residential areas along the route to reduce the impact on residents.
Additional reporting by Chou Min-hung
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