New Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) yesterday pledged to run the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) more like a corporation within three years, adding that he would resign if plans to reform the agency fail.
Wang made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, where the ministry was scheduled to brief lawmakers on the progress of plans to form “travel bubbles” with other countries.
However, committee members focused on Wang’s plans to reform the TRA, which he pledged when he took office on Tuesday.
Wang, previously a deputy minister, was promoted to minister when Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) stepped down to take responsibility for the April 2 railway derailment that killed 49 people and injured more than 200.
Wang has appointed former Railway Bureau director-general Allen Hu (胡湘麟) as the new deputy transportation minister and promoted former TRA deputy director-general Du Wei (杜微) to head the railway agency.
Officials who are familiar with the agency’s core issues and are capable of addressing them are needed to carry out reform, Wang said.
However, Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Andy Chiu (邱臣遠) compared the appointments to “putting old wine into a new bottle,” and asked how the ministry could reform the TRA when it simply promoted current officials without recruiting new ones.
Wang said that he was the executive director of an ad hoc group formed by the Executive Yuan to conduct a comprehensive examination of the TRA after a Puyuma Express derailment in 2018 killed 19 passengers and injured 215.
The ad hoc group listed 144 issues with the TRA and made recommendations accordingly, he said.
“The TRA had followed the suggestions made by the ad hoc group, such as enhancing the maintenance of train cabins and main compressors,” he said. “Building open-cut tunnels to enhance the safety of side slopes was one of the recommendations, but the Taroko Express derailment on April 2 exposed problems with construction site management, which was really frustrating.”
“The TRA is improving in many ways, but new problems have emerged during the process,” he said.
Asked about a timetable for reform, Wang said that it would be carried out in three stages.
Within one year, the ministry would address urgent railway safety issues and integrate the TRA’s electrical engineering, rolling stock, construction and transportation departments by setting up several regional operation centers, he said.
The second phase would involve dealing with the TRA’s financial losses and the third phase turning it into a corporation, he said.
The Executive Yuan has agreed to compensate the TRA for the financial losses that it has sustained for managing small and unprofitable railway stations, Wang said, adding that it agreed to handle the debts that the TRA has accumulated over the years due to an old pension system.
Lawmakers and the Executive Yuan have proposed amendments to the Railway Act (鐵路法), which would grant the TRA greater flexibility in using its properties and assets, he added.
In three years, the TRA would begin to operate like a corporation, he said, without specifying when it would make the transition.
Wang also told Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) that he would step down if his plans for reform fail.
The TRA is scheduled to submit a new ticket pricing scheme to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications by the end of this year, as the agency has not adjusted fares for 26 years.
However, “adjusting train fares would not be the ministry’s top priority,” Wang said, adding that its first and foremost task is to increase the TRA’s revenue.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) asked Wang if he would reverse some of the transportation policies stipulated during Lin’s term, such as extending the high-speed rail line to Pingtung and Yilan counties.
The ministry would continue to implement the projects, Wang said.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
RESTRICTIONS: All food items imported from the five prefectures must be accompanied by radiation and origin certificates, and undergo batch-by-batch inspection The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday announced that almost all produce from five Japanese prefectures affected by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster would now be allowed into Taiwan. The five are Fukushima, Gunma, Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi. The only items that would still be blocked from being imported into the nation are those that are still banned from being circulated in Japan, the FDA added. With the removal of the ban, items including mushrooms, the meat of wild birds and other wild animals, and koshiabura” (foraged vegetables) would now be permitted to enter Taiwan, along with the other
A new tropical storm is expected to form by early tomorrow morning, potentially developing into a medium-strength typhoon that is to affect Taiwan through Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration said today. There are currently two tropical systems circulating to the east of Taiwan, agency forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. The one currently north of Guam developed into Tropical Storm Gebi this afternoon and is expected to veer toward Japan without affecting Taiwan, Hsu said. Another tropical depression is 600km from the east coast and is likely to develp into the named storm Krathon either late tonight or early tomorrow, he said. This
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although