Transport ministry confirms Taiwan Railway chair has resigned

Taipei, March 15 (CNA) The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) on Saturday confirmed that Taiwan Railway Corp. (TRC) Chairperson Du Wei (杜微) has tendered his resignation, citing plans for his personal career.

The ministry said it tried to persuade Du to reconsider his resignation but he was insistent, saying that he had other "personal career plans."

Pending the Cabinet's approval of Du's resignation, he will be replaced by Deputy Transportation Minister Wu Sheng-yuan (伍勝園), who will serve as acting chairperson of TRC, the ministry said.

Du, 65, responded to CNA's inquiry that he had served at Taiwan Railway for 40 years and was ready to spend more time with his family.

He started as an intern at Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA), when it was a government agency, and was its last director-general. When TRA was corporatized in January 2024, Du was appointed chairperson.

Shortly before TRA's corporatization, Du said in an interview with CNA that under his leadership, the company could shed its short-term debts by 2026 and move to profit by 2028.

However, TRC suffered record losses of NT$13.8 billion (US$419.22 million) in 2024, while its on-time performance rate was 93.5 percent, falling short of the expected 97 percent.

At the time, Du attributed those problems to natural disasters and the company's efforts to comply with government policies.

On Saturday, while confirming recent rumors of Du's resignation, the MOTC gave him credit for the move to adjust Taiwan Railway fares, which was approved by the TRC board and an MOTC committee in February.

The proposal to increase Taiwan Railway fares after 30 years of stagnation has been sent to the Cabinet for approval, the ministry said.