Airport line safe, ready for operations: committee

CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS: The Bureau of High Speed Rail said the MRT line would open at current speeds, which the contractor would be required to improve

By Huang Li-hsiang and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer and CNA





Safety concerns over the long-awaited metro rail line between Taipei and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have been addressed and operations could start in the near future, an independent committee said yesterday.

However, it added that other non-safety-related standards stipulated in the contract have yet to be met, including travel time, train speed and intervals.

The line, which has been under construction since 2006 and is to serve 22 stations, was originally scheduled to open in 2010, but has been delayed six times, largely due to signal problems and a lack of coordination between contractors.

Minister of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) Hochen Tan, front right, and Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan, front left, yesterday travel on the Airport MRT System during a trial run. Photo: CNA

Under then-president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in March postponed this year’s opening date indefinitely, saying there was no timetable for the line to begin operations.

After the Democratic Progressive Party took office in May, Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) formed a nine-member committee of industry experts to investigate the delays and facilitate the opening of the line.

The task force on July 4 announced the commencement of its investigation, which formally ended with yesterday’s meeting.

The committee found that 25 problems remain unresolved: 13 engineering-related issues, nine track-related issues and three automatic ticketing system issues, none of which affect the safe operation of trains, it said.

It takes a train 36 minutes to travel between Taipei Main Station MRT station and the airport’s Terminal 1, one minute more than contract requirements.

The committee said express trains average 57kph and regular trains 39kph, less than the contracted speeds of 60kph and 45kph respectively. Subsequently, the time between trains also needs to be adjusted from 10 minutes to 12 minutes, and 15 minutes in off-peak hours.

The Bureau of High Speed Rail, the agency overseeing testing of the system, said operations are to commence at current speeds, but it would require the contractor to increase speeds in accordance with the terms of the contract.

“We have already solved many engineering and power-related issues and achieved system stability,” committee convener Chiang Yao-chung (江耀宗) said. “We have also coordinated with Taoyuan Metro Corp on operational tests, conducted drills, completed control measures at every point along the line, confirmed the initial operations schedule and completed stability tests and simulation exercises.”

“After several meetings with manufacturer Marubeni Corp, the Bureau of High Speed Rail and Taoyuan Metro, as well as investigations and surveys of the facilities, we have seen a steady improvement in the stability of the line’s power systems and greater cooperation on the part of the bureau and Taoyuan Metro.”

Chiang said that the committee supports the commencement of operations and that it hopes authorities will be pragmatic and flexible with future safety tests.