Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation reported that the nation's first bullet train system was ready for operation, although the final review by an inspection committee summoned by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications gave it the pass only if certain requirements were met in next month's test run.
"We will do our best to show that we are fully ready to operate," Arthur Chiang, vice president of the THSRC's administration division, said to the media Nov. 30 while giving a briefing on what the company had been doing to ensure its operational readiness. THSRC held a test run for the media between Banciao in Taipei County and Zuoying in Kaohsiung City. Company officials gave a tour during a stopover at Taoyuan Station, where the operation control center and train driver simulation rooms are located.
Adopting Japan's Shinkansen technology for the core system, the Taiwan High Speed Rail used the Taiwan High Speed 700T train, manufactured by a consortium of Japanese companies, according to Samuel Lin, deputy chief operation officer of the THSRC. As a first-time train operator, THSRC relies on experienced French and German drivers, who must receive additional training, to serve during the start-up phase until native drivers will be able to take over. Currently, there are 39 native drivers in training. In its initial stage, Lin explained, communication between the drivers and controllers was conducted in English. The company estimated that it would take 18 months before instruction could be conducted in Mandarin Chinese.
The railway system built at an estimated cost of US$15 billion was scheduled for commercial operation in mid-December, but two derailment accidents within one month have created doubts about safety. Both accidents involved the rail-switching operation, with one happening during driver training and the other while operating a "line clearing vehicle," a vehicle used to clear debris and foreign objects off the tracks before trains begin their regular service. In addition, the much-awaited MOTC final inspection report gave the railway system only a conditional pass Nov. 28. The report outlined six conditions to be met before the official launch and listed 31 operational defects that it was required to rectify.
Confident of their readiness, company officials felt wronged by the inspection report. "The system already received a go-ahead from the Independent Validation and Verification report conducted by Lloyd's Register," said Ted Chia of the THSRC's public affairs division. He said that the independent organization had closely monitored the project for the past six years on every aspect, from design and construction to test runs, adding that the British certification institution had 200 years of tradition and would not have issued certifications under any pressure, as suspected by local media.
Distrust from the public was said to have prompted the THSRC to cancel a launch ceremony it planned to conduct at Taichung Station on Dec. 7.
"This is Taiwan's first time doing a project like this. It is understandable that people are cautious," responded Christina Tao, an official with THSRC's public affairs division, when asked why the company had failed to persuade the inspection committee, which triggered doubts among the public, voiced mainly by the influential Consumers' Foundation, Chinese Taipei.
One of the issues was that the latest IV&V report identified 28 major defects to be resolved Nov. 4. Soon after, the company announced Nov. 21 that 21 of the defects had been resolved. The unusual speed of the repairs made committee members suspicious. THSRC Executive Director Ou Chin-der explained that the company was working hard to rectify the defects. The Chinese translation of some parts of the IV&V report given to the committee was also alleged to be a cause of misunderstanding.
The committee's final report Nov. 28 dealt a blow to the corporation, which looked forward to seeing the system begin running as scheduled after several announcements of delays in the past. In August, the corporation had expected to start commercial operation in October, which was recently delayed to mid-December. A Dec. 4 Taipei Times article said that THSRC had to bear an operational loss of around US$1.9 million each day the high speed rail was not opened for public use.
"Money is not an issue at this stage when we have come so far to get ready," Chia explained, adding that the company just needed to run the test as required and go through the procedure. Chia spoke during the test ride with the media, while the figures in the panel above the train door showed that the speed exceeded 200 kilometers per hour for most of the journey.
The committee's final report asked the THSRC to operate test runs without accidents for one month following the minor accident that occurred Nov. 24. The company also had to present a record of two weeks of test runs conducted at intervals no greater than 10 minutes, as well as present evidence of the full integration among various mechanical, engineering and signaling systems when operating the bullet trains with varied stopping patterns. The test runs had to be based on a timetable with four-minute intervals.
In a supervisory meeting called by the MOTC Dec. 3, Vice Minister Ho Nuan-hsuan announced that the ministry would see to it that the test runs, starting Dec. 6, met the requirements. If everything went well, the high-speed railway could start operating around Dec. 25.
The launch of the THSR connecting stations in eight suburban areas was generally expected to create enormous business opportunities and help balance the regional development of western Taiwan. Supporters also promoted the system for its safety, energy economy and low pollution.
A standard seat ticket from Taipei to Kaohsiung would cost US$46, about double that of a normal train ticket, but the high speed rail will save its passengers three hours of traveling time and is significantly cheaper than a flight, which can cost at minimum US$60. However, flying only takes about 40 minutes, while the bullet trains will make the trip in 90 minutes.