Taiwan bullet train gets green light for launch

TAIPEI, Dec 25 (Reuters) Taiwan's ambitious bullet train project, powered by Japanese technology, has got the green light for launch, the transport ministry said today, after repeated delays and funding problems.

''Taiwan High Speed Rail has met our standards and we will allow them to operate the line,'' Mark Tsauo, an official from the Bureau of High Speed Rail under the transport ministry told Reuters.

Ted Chia, a spokesman of Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp, builder of the T480 billion dollars (US15 billion dollars) bullet train project, said there was no exact timetable for the launch yet.

''We will still need to get the ministry's official permit for the launch,'' Chia said. ''Media reports saying that we'll launch on January 1 are inaccurate.'' Initially, the bullet train, which uses Japan's Shinkansen technology, will travel from Banciao city in Taipei county in Taiwan's north to Tsoying city in Kaohsiung county in the south, Chia said.

High Speed Rail is still waiting for the ministry's approval to charge a one-way ticket at T1,490 dollars when service starts, he said, around 30 per cent less than an economy-class air ticket.

The plan is to ultimately ferry passengers from Taipei to Kaohsiung cities, which will take some 90 minutes to cover 345 km, much less than the current five hours on existing rail services.

The company's shares, which trade on a grey market ahead of a stock exchange listing, rose 3.98 percent to T11.75 dollars today.

Reuters DKA DB1237