TAIPEI: The Neihu Mass Rapid Transit Line has proven something of a headache for transit passengers.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin is quoted by the Taiwan News as saying he wants senior officials of the Canadian transportation giant Bombardier Inc to come to Taipei to fix problems in the line's operations.

The newly completed Neihu Line and the 10-year-old French-built Muzha Line lost all signals and communications on July 10. Observers believe the breakdown in an uninterruptable power system resulted from difficulties in trying to integrate the two lines.

That has not been the only glitch in the system, though it is the most serious.

The newspaper quoted Hau as saying Bombardier should send a professional team headed by a vice chairman of the corporation to get the line working the way it should.

He told the paper Bombardier's performance should set a standard for contractors on future public works.

The mayor was quoted as saying that proposals by city council members for a fare cut are being considered as a way of compensating riders.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party has called for abolition of fares on the Neihu line for a month to restore public confidence in the line. Opposition members accused the city of treating commuters like "lab rats" on a transportation project that is still unsafe.

The city has responded to the complaints by announcing that passengers caught in last week breakdown will be entitled to five free ticket vouchers as compensation. Other proposals are still under consideration with a decision expected inside of a week.

The mayor also said the city is considering ways to respond to complaints by residents living along the Neihu line that the trains are too noisy.

An engineer from the Bombardier Corporation arrived in Taipei from the United States last Friday and has been working to correct the problems on the line.

Taiwan News

(HK Edition 07/15/2009 page2)