David on Formosa

My earlier confidence in the high speed rail opening on time at the end of this month may have been a bit too optimistic. An article in the Taiwan News today says that, 

The opening of the north-south high-speed railway project will most likely be postponed for a third time after the Taiwan High Speed Railway Company failed to submit its inspection report to the Ministry of Transportations and Communications by the Friday deadline.

While no date for the opening of the HSR is given in the article some news reports in Chinese suggest January 2007. 

Another article in Taiwan Headlines discusses the impact the HSR is likely to have on other transport services in Taiwan.  

With new bullet trains set to begin operation sometime next month, the Taiwan Railway Administration has joined domestic airlines and long-distance buses in adjusting its business strategy in the hopes of securing a healthy share of Taiwan's passenger transportation market.

The article points out that the HSR will be at a disadvantage because many of the stations are located away from the city centres.

He said he had noticed that the high-speed train stops in Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Tainan are in the middle of nowhere, and added it may take a while before the high-speed rail company can coordinate with local bus companies to provide passengers with better connecting services. 

When the HSR does finally open it will be interesting to see how it does impact on travel habits and transport services between Taiwan's major cities.

Update: Here are links to a few more news articles about the delay. Taipei Times: Bullet train likely to be delayed and Taiwan News: Official declares further delay in high-speed rail. (23 October 2006)