《TAIPEI TIMES》 TRA runs drill to prepare for strike on May 1

/ Staff writer, with CNA

A drill involving the use of tour buses on east coast routes served by Taiwan Railways Administration （TRA） trains was held yesterday at Hualien Railway Station as part of a contingency plan to tackle an upcoming strike by TRA employees on Workers’ Day on Sunday.

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The drill simulated a scenario in which passengers who found there were no TRA train services at Hualien station sought help from the service counter and used e-tickets to switch to highway buses and tour buses arranged by the Directorate-General of Highways （DGH）.

TRA Chief Secretary Chen Yu-mou （陳裕謀） told reporters that the TRA had coordinated with the DGH’s Hualien Motor Vehicle Office to provide extra bus services, called “quasi-trains,” on the non-stop route between Hualien and Taitung railway stations, and another route between the two stations with 10 stops: Jian, Shoufong, Fonglin, Guangfu, Rueisuei, Yuli and Fuli in Hualien County, and Chishang, Guanshan and Luye in Taitung County.

TRA Director-General Du Wei （杜微） on Sunday confirmed that railway services would be suspended across the nation on Sunday due to a strike by members of the Taiwan Railway Labor Union to try to get the government to recall a draft bill to corporatize the railway agency.

The TRA’s booking system for train services on Sunday has been suspended and about 10,000 of about 17,000 tickets purchased for trains that day have been refunded, Chen said.

The TRA estimated that about 10,000 people would take “quasi-trains” on the east coast that day.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES