TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – High speed rail services will resume at 2 p.m. instead of the originally planned 3 p.m. as Typhoon Gaemi moves away, reports said Thursday (July 25).
As the country faced a second day of school and office closures, the storm was moving away over the Taiwan Strait, though torrential rain was still expected to affect many regions. After a safety inspection of the rail tracks, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) decided to move up the resumption of services by one hour, the Liberty Times reported.
Each hour will see three trains leave Nangang Station in Taipei and Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung at 20-minute intervals. Trains will also leave Taichung in each direction at 2 p.m. and 2:40 p.m.
Trains will stop at each station and have no reserved seats. In the event of strong winds and heavy rain at certain locations, the trains will adjust their speed.
The final services between Nangang and Zuoying will leave at 9:40 p.m., but there will still be trains from Nangang and Zuoying to Taichung at 10:40 p.m.
Shopping malls and department stores nationwide also chose 2 p.m. to reopen their doors to customers. Taipei 101, Sogo, Far Eastern, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Breeze, and Q Square announced most of their branches would resume business at 2 p.m., per CNA.
The Far Eastern Group said its Mega City and Far Eastern department stores in Taipei’s Xinyi District, New Taipei’s Banqiao District, Taoyuan, Zhubei, Hsinchu, and Hualien would open at noon. The retail businesses advised the public to consult their websites for information about the changes.
