Typhoon Kong-rey disrupts trains in eastern Taiwan

Taipei, Nov. 1 (CNA) Typhoon Kong-rey has partly paralyzed rail services in eastern Taiwan, with the Eastern Main Line expected to resume normal operations later on Friday and the North Link Line on Saturday morning, the Taiwan Railway Corp. (TR) said.

All North Link Line services between Su'aoxin Station in northeastern Taiwan and Hualien Station remain suspended as track repair efforts continue. The TR has rerouted southbound express trains from Taipei and they are now terminating at Su'ao or Luodong.

All services between Hualien and Taitung were suspended until 1 p.m. Friday.

Local express trains from Taipei to Hualien will operate only as far as Horen or Heping stations, while northbound trains from Hualien to Yilan began terminating at Xincheng Station at 10 a.m.

To help accommodate passengers, the TR has arranged temporary bus services between Hualien and Ruisui stations and is adjusting bus frequency based on demand.

According to the TR, repair work is challenging due to landslides burying sections of the track between Horen and Chongde. Crews are working to clear these sections in time for Saturday's first scheduled train.

Power infrastructure damage has also contributed to the disruption.

Repairs on the North Link Line's power equipment between Jingmei and Beipu stations are expected to be completed by Friday afternoon, while power on the Eastern Main Line between Fuyuan and Guangfu stations is expected to be restored by that evening.

Meanwhile, Western Main Line trains in both directions were operating on a single track between Xizhi and Nangang due to damaged electricity lines near Xike Station in New Taipei City.

This service was expected to return to normal around noon.

Meanwhile, the Pingxi, Shen'ao, Neiwan and Jiji branch lines were expected to gradually resume service at noon.

Passengers holding unused tickets purchased during the typhoon warning period can obtain refunds without service fees within one year of their original travel date.