Two new commuter trains are scheduled to be launched in January next year, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said yesterday.
The acquisition of EMU-900 commuter train cars is part of the railway operator’s plan to replace 589 train cars that have been in operation for more than three decades.
The agency has also placed orders to buy 600 intercity train cars.
Photo courtesy of the TRA
The first batch of 20 EMU-900 cars is to be delivered to the nation in September, although delivery might be delayed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency said.
The batch would be formed into two trains of 10 cars each, the TRA said, adding that it would conduct reliability tests before an official launch in January.
The agency said it also has commuter trains composed of the EMU-500, EMU-600, EMU-700 and EMU-800 car models, most of which have eight cars.
With 10 cars, the EMU-900 trains would be more than 200m long, it added.
However, some of the TRA’s railway stations have shorter platforms.
Platforms on the line between Hualien City and Taitung City, along the South Link Line and between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County’s Fangliao Township (枋寮) are only 160m long.
These platforms would need to be extended to accommodate the new trains, the agency said.
Projects to extend the platforms at four stations are to be completed by the end of this year, while the rest would be finished by the end of next year, it said.
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