OPERATION of Taiwan’s national railway network passed from Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) to the newly-created Taiwan Railway Corporation (TRC) on January 1 as the government looks to improve rail safety.
Speaking at a ceremony held at Taipei main station, Taiwan’s president, Ms Tsai Ing-wen, said that the transformation of TRA into a state-owned corporation would improve both passenger and worker safety.
She added that converting TRA into a corporation had first been discussed in 2002. Fatal train accidents in 2018 and 2021 had further underlined the need for the debt-ridded TRA to undergo comprehensive structural reform alongside changes to its safety regime.
According to the president, TRC would be better-funded and have more power to upgrade safety management systems and improve operational efficiency.
TRA had been saddled with too many unprofitable routes, she said, adding that significant employee pension fund contributions had also hit the company’s bottom line.
Minister of transportation and communications, Mr Wang Kwo-tsai, said that safety will be TRC’s top priority. Following restructuring as a corporation, TRC would also be able to phase out aging rolling stock and improve service quality, enjoying greater freedom to increase revenue by developing its own property.
TRC chairman, Mr Tu Wei, added that the company will set up a new safety system, looking to reduce risk through structural reform and on-the-job training, drawing on the experience of experts both within Taiwan and abroad.
After TRA’s long-term debt obligations of $NT 170bn ($US 5.5bn) are transferred to a new fund established by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), Tu expected cash flow at TRC to be positive by 2026 and the company to move into profit in 2028.
Fares would have to rise, he warned, as they had not been revised for over 20 years. TRC expects to consult on future fares later this year.
