Taiwan Railway reopens rain-disrupted South Link Line

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) Taiwan Railway Corp. announced the resumption of services on the South Link Line Monday evening, over 12 hours after floods and a mudslide caused by heavy rainfall affected the around-the-island train network.

Floods at two sections on the railway line between Fangliao Station in Pingtung County and Taitung Station in Taitung County and mudslide debris near Dawu Station in Taitung were cleared at 6:50 p.m., allowing service resumption, the state-tun train operators said in a statement.

The first resumed service moving clockwise on Taiwan Railway's network around the island departing Taitung at 6:33 p.m. for Pingtung was Tze-Chiang Express 428 with the EMU3000 model, according to the company.

Meanwhile, Tze-Chiang Express 323, which departed Xinzuoying Station in Kaohsiung at 6:49 p.m., was the first train to run in a counterclockwise direction on the South Link Line since the first three services of the day were forced to return to their station of origin shortly after 6 a.m.

Taiwan Railway's website showed there were three Tze-Chiang Express services in each direction for the remainder of Monday, while no information was available about local trains on the South Link Line.

To help transport passengers stranded in Taitung, the services between Xinzuoying and Shulin Station in New Taipei via the South Link Line and eastern Taiwan will allow people holding tickets without a reserved seat to board.

The services Monday evening were all operated by Tze-Chiang Express EMU3000 trains, which normally only accept passengers with reserved seat tickets.

People holding unused tickets on disrupted services can ask for a refund with the processing fee waived within one year from the date of travel, Taiwan Railway said.

Passengers on services delayed by over 120 minutes on Monday can ask for information about taking another ride on the same type of train and journey using their original ticket, according to the train operator's regulations.