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  #61  
Old Posted Aug 16, 2009, 5:08 PM
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Taiwan high-speed rail refinancing agreed

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/ne...ancing-agreed/

When it opened in May 2007, the Taipei - Kaohsiung route was hailed as ‘the world’s first privately-funded high speed line’, but Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp has been finding times tough. Whilst traffic has risen steadily to an average of 87 000 passengers/day for the first half of this year, this is far removed from the optimistic 275 000 forecast by the government when the project was launched.

There have been rumours that THSRC was in financial trouble, and could end up being taken over by the government. Earlier this year we received reports of belt tightening. Completion of the eastern extension from Taipei to Nankang is now on hold indefinitely, and work on the outstanding intermediate stations has been stopped. Several departments have been merged or abolished, with a voluntary redundancy scheme to reduce the payroll from 3 600 to 2 500.

In a tale that has many parallels with the Eurotunnel saga, Taiwan’s NT$500bn high speed line was 80% funded through bank debt, leaving a legacy of huge interest payments. In 2008 THSRC reported revenues of NT$23bn, but interest payments of NT$17·4bn and what Chairman Nita Ing described as ‘unreasonable’ depreciation charges of NT$18·9bn led to an overall deficit of NT$25bn. In the two years since opening, the railway has racked up losses of NT$67·5bn, equivalent to two-thirds of its equity capital.

On July 13 the Ministry of Transport & Communications announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with THSRC and the Bank of Taiwan, paving the way for a refinancing deal to be concluded by the end of this year. A BoT-led consortium of no more than 10 banks will provide a new loan to pay off two syndicated loans and a bond issue totalling NT$390bn. As well as resetting the grace period on capital repayments, this is expected to result in a much lower interest rate of around 2·6%.

As with the Eurotunnel refinancing concluded earlier this year, simplification of the capital structure would seem to be the right way to go. But with limited liquidity in the financial markets, it may not prove easy to find 10 banks willing to lend up to NT$40bn each, even with government pressure behind the scenes.

Source: www.railwaygazette.com
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  #62  
Old Posted Aug 17, 2009, 4:27 PM
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Alishan tourism sector sustains severe typhoon damage

Central News Agency
2009-08-15 08:29 PM


Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) Massive flooding caused by Typhoon Morakot in southern Taiwan since Aug. 8 has badly damaged the scenic Alishan area -- one of the most popular tourist attractions in Taiwan -- after flood and landslides smashed roads and buried various sightseeing spots.
The Alishan Highway, which is the main road to the Alishan forest recreation area, suffered massive cave-ins and losses of the road bed, and the Directorate General of Highways (DGH) estimated that part of the road could be fixed by Sept. 5, although the road is not expected to reopen completely until the end of September.

Kuo Ching-shuei, a DGH official in charge of construction and repair of roads in the area, was cited by a local newspaper that it would take at least six months to one year before big tourist buses will be able to use the road.

Damage to the Alishan forest railway was even worse, with Yen Mao-sheng, the official in charge of railway construction affairs at the Chiayi Forest District Office, assessing that it would take a year to restore the popular scenic railway.Four townships in the Alishan scenic area, including Jhuci, Fanlu, Alishan and Meishan, received nearly 3,000 mm of rain during the typhoon devastation last week, the highest precipitation recorded anywhere in the country.

Restoration of the townships is expected to take many years, as will recovery of the agriculture and tourism sectors in the area, Fanlu township chief Lou Yin-chang said.

The number of tourists visiting the Alishan forest recreation area this year alone reached 1 million Aug. 4, the highest figure since its inauguration in 1980, thanks to Taiwan's opening to visits by Chinese tourists.

Meanwhile, Tourism Bureau officials noted, however, that most of the country's other tourism destinations had escaped relatively unscathed from the devastation.

(By Elizabeth Hsu)

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_...&lang=eng_news
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  #63  
Old Posted Aug 18, 2009, 3:20 PM
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thanks for the articles...it is very unfortunate to hear that HSR is not staying on budget and expanding it's system. I guess, for now, there is no need to extend HSR to Nagkang. We already have MRT connection to that business park area and people would transfer to HSR at Taipei main stn.


And the poor Alishan tourism....
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  #64  
Old Posted Aug 19, 2009, 5:48 AM
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Sorry Allen, But I will have to disagree on your above statement. There is a need for the HSR to be extended to Nangang. The reason I am basing this off of is that when tourist or anyone coming from abroad and wants to attend the Nangang expo, it is easier for them to take the HSR from Taoyuan to Nangang instead of to Taipei and then have to transfer to the MRT. Plus if you want to take the MRT you will have to transfer at the Zhongxiao Fuxing station and take the Brown line through Neihu. Or you can take the Blue line but you will need to take a bus at the last MRT Station.

That being said, I think that by delaying the extension, it is going to delay the bigger picture if the HSR connecting to the East Coast.
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  #65  
Old Posted Aug 19, 2009, 6:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Coyett View Post
Taiwan high-speed rail refinancing agreed

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/ne...ancing-agreed/

When it opened in May 2007, the Taipei - Kaohsiung route was hailed as ‘the world’s first privately-funded high speed line’, but Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp has been finding times tough. Whilst traffic has risen steadily to an average of 87 000 passengers/day for the first half of this year, this is far removed from the optimistic 275 000 forecast by the government when the project was launched.

There have been rumours that THSRC was in financial trouble, and could end up being taken over by the government. Earlier this year we received reports of belt tightening. Completion of the eastern extension from Taipei to Nankang is now on hold indefinitely, and work on the outstanding intermediate stations has been stopped. Several departments have been merged or abolished, with a voluntary redundancy scheme to reduce the payroll from 3 600 to 2 500.

In a tale that has many parallels with the Eurotunnel saga, Taiwan’s NT$500bn high speed line was 80% funded through bank debt, leaving a legacy of huge interest payments. In 2008 THSRC reported revenues of NT$23bn, but interest payments of NT$17·4bn and what Chairman Nita Ing described as ‘unreasonable’ depreciation charges of NT$18·9bn led to an overall deficit of NT$25bn. In the two years since opening, the railway has racked up losses of NT$67·5bn, equivalent to two-thirds of its equity capital.

On July 13 the Ministry of Transport & Communications announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with THSRC and the Bank of Taiwan, paving the way for a refinancing deal to be concluded by the end of this year. A BoT-led consortium of no more than 10 banks will provide a new loan to pay off two syndicated loans and a bond issue totalling NT$390bn. As well as resetting the grace period on capital repayments, this is expected to result in a much lower interest rate of around 2·6%.

As with the Eurotunnel refinancing concluded earlier this year, simplification of the capital structure would seem to be the right way to go. But with limited liquidity in the financial markets, it may not prove easy to find 10 banks willing to lend up to NT$40bn each, even with government pressure behind the scenes.

Source: www.railwaygazette.com
Many comments say the developer want to earn money from property market rather than transport. In fact, many railway company in Aisa earn most money from commercial development. The problem for Taiwan High Speed Rail is government and developers are too optimistic and locations of most stations are too far away from city centre. They can not develop commerical development in these places.
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  #66  
Old Posted Aug 19, 2009, 6:18 AM
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Originally Posted by williamchung taiwan View Post
most stations are too far away from city centre. They can not develop commerical development in these places.
This is so true. Building Taichung's HSR station out in the county is such a joke. I know that they could not build it next to Taichung's main train station but they could have do so at the location of Taichung Gang Road and just past the freeway where the HSR goes over the road. That area is open space that would be great because it allows the Taichung MRT to connect the HSR to the train station via Taichung Gang Road.
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  #67  
Old Posted Aug 19, 2009, 2:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anyiliang View Post
Sorry Allen, But I will have to disagree on your above statement. There is a need for the HSR to be extended to Nangang. The reason I am basing this off of is that when tourist or anyone coming from abroad and wants to attend the Nangang expo, it is easier for them to take the HSR from Taoyuan to Nangang instead of to Taipei and then have to transfer to the MRT. Plus if you want to take the MRT you will have to transfer at the Zhongxiao Fuxing station and take the Brown line through Neihu. Or you can take the Blue line but you will need to take a bus at the last MRT Station.

That being said, I think that by delaying the extension, it is going to delay the bigger picture if the HSR connecting to the East Coast.

Keep in mind that most people would probably use TRA trains or hop on a coachline bus to get to Taipei....HSR is not so affordable and the riderships are low. Also, the Blue line would be extended to Nangang's convention centre/expo to connect with the brown line and I am guessing that this would happen before the HSR start the extension the Nangang. Also, it makes no sense to use the Brown line....

TRA / HSR --> MRT --> Bus would be what you need at the moment.
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  #68  
Old Posted Aug 19, 2009, 2:57 PM
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Originally Posted by anyiliang View Post
This is so true. Building Taichung's HSR station out in the county is such a joke. I know that they could not build it next to Taichung's main train station but they could have do so at the location of Taichung Gang Road and just past the freeway where the HSR goes over the road. That area is open space that would be great because it allows the Taichung MRT to connect the HSR to the train station via Taichung Gang Road.
I couldn't agree more....know they have have all those stupid shuttle buses that take you to no where.....I really hate how they want to develop new lands and new communities that way. (not saying that it is not good to be transit oriented communities) But the surrounding projects should be completed along with the stations....

terrible and impratical...

when is Taichung MRT going to start anyways?
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Last edited by metroXpress; Aug 19, 2009 at 5:53 PM.
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  #69  
Old Posted Aug 19, 2009, 3:01 PM
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http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/fron.../19/2003451460
MRT's Neihu Line breaks down twice in single day

OFFICIAL HEADACHE: The city government will continue inspections of the Neihu-Muzha Line after the recent series of breakdowns, announcing delayed services on weekends
By Mo Yan-chih
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009, Page 1
At 7:43pm, the Taipei MRT's entire Neihu Line had to be shut down after breaking down a fifth time. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said the company completed passenger evacuations by 8:04pm.

Though service between 〝Jiannan Station and Taipei Zoo Station resumed at 9:05pm, the TRTC was still investigating the cause of yesterday's second breakdown at press time.

Earlier in the day, the Neihu-Muzha MRT Line experienced a fourth system shutdown after a network system malfunction at Dahu Park Station.

It was the second network system malfunction in two weeks for the problematic line following the first incident on Aug. 6. The line*s service was suspended at 10:35am after the malfunction was detected.

The 405 passengers trapped in three trains that stopped between stations were evacuated by 10:52am. Service was resumed at 12:10pm after the system was fixed and a trial run was conducted.

It was the fourth system shutdown since the Neihu stretch of the line began operations on July 4.

When asked to comment on the breakdown after system inspections began during the weekend, Tan said the city government had demanded that the system*s builder, Bombardier Inc, improve the stability of the network system and fix other problems.

※We will ask Bombardier to speed up the inspection process and improve the line's stability as soon as possible,§ he said yesterday at Taipei City Hall.

The weekly system inspections require more time than originally planned, so operation of the line will be delayed until 11am on Saturday and Sunday, Tan said.

The line will be suspended from 6am to 11am for those two days, with free shuttle buses running between the line*s stations until 12pm, he said.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the city government announced the service suspension ahead of time in response to complaints passengers made about the short notice last week.

The city government only announced on Friday afternoon last week that services for Saturday and Sunday would be delayed.
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  #70  
Old Posted Aug 19, 2009, 3:03 PM
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It seems that company can not solve the computer system problem....
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  #71  
Old Posted Aug 19, 2009, 4:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Allen View Post
Keep in mind that most people would probably use TRA trains or hop on a coachline bus to get to Taipei....HSR is not so affordable and the riderships are low. Also, the Blue line would be extended to Nangang's convention centre/expo to connect with the brown line and I am guessing that this would happen before the HSR start the extension the Nangang. Also, it makes no sense to use the Brown line....

TRA / HSR --> MRT --> Bus would be what you need at the moment.
Taking the HSR from Taoyuan to TPE is the same price as taking a bus. I choose to take the HSR because I personally feel that it is faster. The price is $20 from the airport to Taoyuan HSR and then it cost, I think, $150 to TPE.

I did not know that the Blue line was going to be extended to Nangang's convention center. Thank you for that info. That is why I stated using the Brown line. Currently only the Brown line goes directly to the convention center and if you use the blue line you will have to take a bus. So as you stated that they will extend the blue line to the convention center, I agree that this should be done first before HSR. It makes more sense because there are more riders on the MRT that will use it than there are on the HSR.
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  #72  
Old Posted Aug 19, 2009, 4:50 PM
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I couldn't agree more....know they have have all those stupid shuttle buses that take you to no where.....I really hate how they want to develop new lands and new communities that way. (not saying that it is not good to be transit oriented communities) But the surrounding projects should be completed along with the stations....

terrible and inpratical...

when is Taichung MRT going to start anyways?
Taichung having an MRT? lol. We have heard that for over 10 years and they keep saying that it is going to start this year. What a joke. Traffic is so bad. There is no real bus system, even though they say there is. So if it is true that the gov't is going to start this year, then I think it will be done in 10 more years. This is very sad.
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  #73  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2009, 2:21 PM
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Originally Posted by anyiliang View Post
Taking the HSR from Taoyuan to TPE is the same price as taking a bus. I choose to take the HSR because I personally feel that it is faster. The price is $20 from the airport to Taoyuan HSR and then it cost, I think, $150 to TPE.

I did not know that the Blue line was going to be extended to Nangang's convention center. Thank you for that info. That is why I stated using the Brown line. Currently only the Brown line goes directly to the convention center and if you use the blue line you will have to take a bus. So as you stated that they will extend the blue line to the convention center, I agree that this should be done first before HSR. It makes more sense because there are more riders on the MRT that will use it than there are on the HSR.

I would take the HSR too....who wouldnn't fall for a better/newer way of communting?

The Blue line would be extended, and I believe construction is well under way (aren't they building the transportation hub at Nangang that would accomodate the future HSR stn.) One thing though, the HSR stn would stop at Nangang and not Nangang Expo Centre stn of Brown/and future blue line.

Map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ng_Pinyin).gif

So that means even if you take HSR to Nangang, you would still have to ride the MRT for one stn to get to expo. centre....
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  #74  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2009, 2:25 PM
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Taichung having an MRT? lol. We have heard that for over 10 years and they keep saying that it is going to start this year. What a joke. Traffic is so bad. There is no real bus system, even though they say there is. So if it is true that the gov't is going to start this year, then I think it will be done in 10 more years. This is very sad.
No one is going to take teh MRT anyways....no point of building it when no one wants to take the public transit and they prefer this:





Also, they have no real bus system and this is terrible because the buses are suppose to feed the communters to all these stn.....ah.....

Found this map: http://myweb.fcu.edu.tw/~p9521756/MRT/MRT_TCHa.jpg
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  #75  
Old Posted Aug 21, 2009, 1:38 AM
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In the future, Taiwanese government will assess energy tax and green tax. The price of oil and electricity will jump up twice from the report. From my personal point of view, these tax sould involve the individual income and property. The reason is rich people general emit much more greenhouse gas than poor people.

In fact, human need to change their life style before technology can solve these problems.
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  #76  
Old Posted Aug 23, 2009, 3:52 PM
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Taoyuan Zhongli rail station redevelopment

Just rearly proposal, so no any information about height or storeys.


http://www.heyshow.com.tw/browsing/users.asp?id=18788

Last edited by williamchung taiwan; Aug 24, 2009 at 4:43 AM.
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  #77  
Old Posted Aug 24, 2009, 3:22 AM
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that 3 tower podlike building in the video is very cool. are they going to build it?
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  #78  
Old Posted Aug 25, 2009, 3:58 PM
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that's massive....too bad that they can't connect HSR there...



I wonder what's going on at Qingpu Station in Taoyuan
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  #79  
Old Posted Aug 31, 2009, 4:16 PM
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Found the PDF for the contract with AnsaldoBreda for the circular line

http://www.finmeccanica.it/EN/Common..._06_09_ENG.pdf
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  #80  
Old Posted Sep 2, 2009, 11:02 AM
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Found the PDF for the contract with AnsaldoBreda for the circular line

http://www.finmeccanica.it/EN/Common..._06_09_ENG.pdf
mentions taiwan in 1 sentence.
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