High Speed Rail coming soon?
HSR passenger service counter at Banqiao Station
Taiwan's High Speed Rail (HSR) is scheduled to open on 31 October. Whether it will actually open on time or not is a subject of speculation. It has already been reported that there are difficulties constructing the section of the line between Banqiao and Taipei, so initially Banqiao will serve as the HSR's northern terminus. Similarly services will terminate at Zuoying Station, rather than Gaoxiong Station, in the south. There have also been concerns about sinkage on some section of the track near Miaoli (reported in the Taipei Times on 25 April 2006, 30 May 2006, 31 May 2006, 3 June 2006, and 22 July 2006).
Today I spent some time walking around Banqiao and Taipei Stations and snapped a few photos of the signs, counters and platform entrances. Obviously installing signs in a station is much easier than ensuring the tracks are laid to the correct specifications, the rolling stock is functioning, the staff are trained and prepared and all systems are operational.
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Some shots from Banqiao Station
Signs in the Banqiao Station spell Banqiao as Banciao. This is Tongyong Pinyin rather than Hanyu Pinyin which is used in Taipei City and the MRT. The signage in and around the Banqiao Station is quite a mess with a mixture of Hanyu and Tongyong Pinyin. Also many signs there make incorrect use of capital letters and spaces.
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Some shots from Taipei Station
I will be watching for any further developments in Taipei and Banqiao Stations that might give some clue about when the High Speed Rail will open. It will be an exciting new development in transport for Taiwan whenever it does.
UPDATE: While travelling through Taipei Station last night I noticed that the barrier separating the HSR platforms from the regular train platforms had been removed. This allowed a good view of the HSR platforms. Some work was still going on, but the platforms looked close to completion. (10 September 2006)
Links
Taiwan High Speed Rail – Wikipedia article
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation
HSR from Taichung to Taipei
High speed rail delayed
Reuters on “Kiss and Ride”
Kiss and ride the high speed rail
High speed rail ready?
Posted: September 9th, 2006 under News & media, Pinyin & romanisation, Taiwan, Trains.
Tags: hsr
Comments
Comment from Mark
Time 11 September 2006 at 2:50 am
Tongyong is idiotic. I’ve never yet met a person for whom it was actually helpful. Over 99% of all the foreigners who study Chinese learn pinyin, standard pinyin.
Messed up romanization or not, I’d love to be able to get to Taizhong in under an hour. With a high speed rail, I’d even go down south fairly often.
Comment from Charlie
Time 9 September 2006 at 6:27 pm
Banqiao city uses Tongyong pinyin instead of Hanyu pinyin, so many signs inside the MRT station have the two systems.
Banqiao (Banciao) MRT
Wenhua Rd. (Wunhua Rd.)
etc, etc.