Typhoon Ragasa disrupts train services on South Link Line

Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) Taiwan Railway Corp. announced on Monday that all trains on the South Link Line will be suspended after 12 p.m. due to Typhoon Ragasa.

On the southbound route from Xinzuoying to Taitung, trains No. 313, 317, 323, 327, 431 and 3021 will be suspended after noon, while trains No. 165 and No. 385 will terminate at Chaozhou, TR said.

Services on the Taitung-Shulin and Taitung-Hualien sections will continue to operate as normal.

On the northbound route from Taitung to Xinzuoying, trains No. 308, 324, 422, 428, 432 and 434 will operate only as far as Taitung, while trains No. 168, 314, 386, 708, 3028 and 3038 will be suspended.

Some parts of the routes, including Chaozhou-Changhua, Chaozhou-Qidu and Chaozhou-Taichung, will continue running as scheduled.

Meanwhile, tourist trains No. 1 and 2 will be suspended between Fangliao and Taitung, while the Taitung-Fangliao segment of the blue-livery train No. 5898 will also be canceled.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, Typhoon Ragasa was located 360 kilometers southeast of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, moving west at a speed of about 20 km per hour, according to Central Weather Administration.

With a radius of 320 km, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 209 kph and gusts up to 263 kph.