SPEEDING UP? The TRA is implementing a six-year safe operation plan and buying 600 carriages for the intercity train system, the Transportation Department chief said

Taipei Times
Date: Jul 23, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday said it would raise the overall availability of its equipment to improve train punctuality.

The railway operator issued the statement after the Chinese-language United Daily News published an investigative report on the punctuality rate of TRA trains, saying that the high-speed rail system and the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system are more punctual.

The TRA plans to maintain its average train punctuality rate, which is 94 percent, Transportation Department chief Chang Ching-song (張錦松) said, adding that its rate in May was 91.3 percent, up from 87.9 percent in October last year.

“The TRA is not a closed railway system, but is subject to external factors, such as vehicles and pedestrians trespassing on railway crossings. Another critical factor is the overall availability of equipment, including train carriages and signals,” Chang said, referring to factors affecting train punctuality.    [FULL  STORY]