Posted: 17/02/2008 9:20 pm Post subject: Å´ÃÒ¤ÒµÑëǪÑ鹸ØáԨ ö俤ÇÒÁàÃçÇÊÙ§ 20%
High-speed railway offers business class discount
China Post Sunday, February 17, 2008
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Business class tickets for travel on Taiwan's high speed railway will be discounted by 20 percent starting March 1, an official of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) announced.
Senior citizens, passengers under 12 and groups, who already were eligible for a 5 percent discount on business class tickets, will now enjoy a 25 percent discount for the higher class of service.
Ted Chia, assistant manager of THSRC's Public Affairs Division, said business class -- which usually occupies one of the 12 passenger cars on an average high speed train -- has had low load factors because of the short travel times, and he hoped the discount would fill up some of the many empty seats.
"There is no deadline for this offer, " Chia said. "Senior citizens can take advantage of this along with the original five percent discount to enjoy more spacious seating, making the journey more pleasant."
With the discount, the price of a one-way business class ticket for the 96 minute to two-hour trip between Taipei in the north and Zuoying in the south would fall from the original NT$2,440 (US$76) to NT$1,950 (US$59), or just NT$460 (US$14) more than the economy class fare, THSRC said in a statement.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Taiwan High Speed Rail Co.(THSR) announced an advance ticket discount package Saturday from March 31-June 30 on all classes of train tickets between Monday and Thursday, excluding national holidays.
According to a THSR statement, from March 18, travelers booking tickets between Monday and Thursday March 31-June 30 will enjoy an additional 20 percent discount on top of the existing 20 percent discount on business class tickets and 10 percent on non reserved standard class.
The discount will bring down the price of a one-way business class Taipei-Zuoying from the original NT$2,440 (US$76) to NT$1,560, just NT$70 more than the economy class fare, THSR said in the statement.
In standard class, the price for the same trip will drop from the original NT$1,490 to NT$1,190, while for non-reserved tickets, the price will be down to NT$1,070 from the original NT$1,385.
The preferential fares will not be offered on national holidays, long holidays and special holidays, the statement said, noting that group travelers can also enjoy an additional 5 percent preferential discount during the same period.
Senior citizens and travelers aged under 12, who already enjoy preferential prices, are not entitled to the new discount.
The accumulated passenger volume of the high-speed railway system has breached the 20-million mark since it began operating last year. According to the company, the high-speed railway is not only the fastest land transport in Taiwan but is also the most eco-friendly.
Carbon dioxide released by a high-speed train averages only 0.0267 kg per passenger-kilometer, about one quarter of the average 0.1 kg released per passenger-kilometer by a small passenger car, it said.
As of March 5, the high speed railway had totaled 4.48 billion passenger-kilometers, saving 328,460 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions if those passengers had used their cars to cover the same distance, the company said.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Taiwan High Speed Rail system transported 132,000 passengers and operated a total of 130 trains Sunday, the last day of Taiwan's Tomb Sweeping holiday, marking two new highs, an executive of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) said yesterday.
Sunday's passenger volume broke the record of 123,000 set on the eve of the traditional holiday when local people travel to their family homes to pay tribute to their ancestors and clean up their graves, the executive said.
Some 460,000 passengers traveled on the system during the four-day holiday, a figure that exceeded the volume recorded over the Chinese New Year holiday in February this year, according to the executive.
The official attributed the increased volume to the THSRC's decision to provide additional trains and some free seats, a service that drew a lot of impromptu passengers, adding that during the Chinese New Year holiday most travelers had reserved seats for planned tours.
On the last day of the Tomb Sweeping holiday (§Ò¹àªç§àÁé§), the THSRC allowed free seating on some train cars and dispatched four additional non-reserved trains to carry people from Kaohsiung to Taipei and one from Taichung to Taipei, but many passengers still had to stand all the way, the executive said.
THSRC breaks even for first time
Reuters - Wednesday, May 28, 2008
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan's bullet train broke even last month for the first time since starting service at the beginning of 2007, giving it leverage to list on the island's main stock exchange, a transportation official said Tuesday.
Due in part to a 136 percent year-on-year ridership increase last month, the train operator Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) posted revenues and expenditures of about NT$1.9 billion (US$62 million) each in April, said Pang Jar-hua, the transportation ministry's high-speed rail director general.
"It's the first time they've recorded break-even numbers," Pang told a news conference. "In April they didn't lose money."
The high-speed rail corporation, which runs the Japanese-style bullet trains, has said it aimed to list on Taiwan's main board in the second half of 2008 after breaking even in its first 18 months.
High Speed Rail Corp. currently trades on Taiwan's grey market, where volumes are relatively thin compared to the larger main board. Its shares were down 1.44 percent Tuesday at NT$9.56, lagging the main TAIEX index's 0.81 percent rise.
The trains run on a 345-kilometer (214-mile) route between Taipei and the southern port city of Kaohsiung. The US$15 billion bullet train system is the fastest ground-based line outside Japan, reaching speeds up to 315 km/h (196 miles/hour).
Passenger volume was an average of 85,000 trips per day, or 2.545 million total trips in April, Pang said. The company, which is adding trains as it lowers weekday prices, aims for a maximum of 145,000 trips per day by 2033.
The launch of Taiwan's High Speed Rail, which uses Japan's Shinkansen bullet train technology, has intensified competition with domestic airline routes, with Taipei-Kaohsiung airfares down to slightly below high speed rail's full fares.
No more Taipei-Tainan flights after July
The China Post news staff
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- There will be no flight service between Taipei and Tainan in southern Taiwan starting in August, leaving only the Taipei-Kaohsiung air service, officials at the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA).
The CAA approved a request from TransAsia Airways, presently the only air carrier operating the Taipei-Tainan route, to suspend flights because of the dwindling number of passengers and soaring fuel costs.
The officials said they gave the approval mainly because there are alternate choices for passengers, including the high-speed rail, the conventional railway, and bus service on the west coast of the island.
TransAsia will give refunds to customers who already booked flights for after July 31.
With the withdrawal of TransAsia from the route, Mandarin Airlines will become the only domestic air carrier flying the route linking Taipei in the north and southern Taiwan.
Mandarin, affiliate of China Airlines, currently provides two or three flights per day on the Taipei-Kaohsiung route with an occupancy rate of 60 to 70 percent.
But the air carrier will reduce to two flights a day beginning on Aug. 1.
Company executives said they will have to stop flying the route if the occupancy rate drops to below 60 percent.
While the domestic air carriers continue slashing their flights, the high-speed rail service between Taipei and Kaohsiung is enjoying spectacular growth.
Customers took 15.56 million rides aboard the bullet trains as of mid-July this year, surpassing the total number of rides for the whole year of 2007.
It takes 50 minutes and costs NT$1,450 for flights between Taipei and Kaohsiung.
It takes two hours and about the same price for the high-speed rail service.
People who are not in a hurry may take the conventional railway service offered by the state-owned Taiwan Railway Administration. It costs NT$845 and takes 4 hours and 30 minutes to travel between the two largest cities on the island.
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