The Ocean Fuji cruise ship (海洋富士號) canceled its scheduled January 22 arrival at Taichung Port (台中港), once again dashing hopes for the city, which has waited nearly seven years for a cruise ship to dock.

People in the city may have finally gotten used to seeing a tram/train glide through city streets.

A new traffic diversion lane designed to separate heavy construction vehicles from smaller commuters has come under fire after three accidents occurred within a single hour of its opening. The dedicated lane on Zuonan Road (左楠路) was implemented to manage heavy truck traffic heading to the massive TSMC plant construction site in nearby Nanzih District.

“The metro will reshape daily life and urban patterns in Tainan,” the bureau said. “We are integrating rail construction with parking facilities and surrounding land development to build a more livable and accessible city.”

Concerns have focused on the construction impacts, particularly a planned 5.78-kilometer open-cut section through central Kaohsiung, which is longer than earlier estimates. Residents and business owners worry about extended traffic disruptions, noise, dust, and road closures.

Advance ticket sales begin January 13 at midnight for eastern corridor reserved-seat trains, including Yilan, North-Link, South-Link, and cross-line services. Western corridor ticket sales open January 14 at midnight, with bookings available for travel through February 23. Real-name eastern corridor trains open for booking at midnight on January 15 for passengers whose ID numbers begin with U or V, registered residents of Hualien or Taitung counties, and their spouses or first-degree relatives.

Under the plan, the new line will stretch approximately 26.2 kilometers and include two new stations: an underground HSR Kaohsiung Station and an elevated HSR Pingtung Station. Both will be co-located with Taiwan Railways (台鐵) stations, allowing passengers to transfer between systems within the station concourse without going outside.

Nationwide, Taiwan currently has 491 intercity bus routes, including 140 freeway routes and 351 conventional highway services , but many existing routes were planned 20 to 30 years ago and no longer match current travel patterns. The bureau is now reviewing major corridors, including Taipei–Keelung, Taipei–Taoyuan, Taipei–Taichung, Taipei–Tainan, and Taipei–Kaohsiung, to assess possible route mergers, frequency adjustments, and new stop placements.

Plans call for a 23-story mixed-use tower with four underground levels, directly integrated with the station’s No. 1 exit in what developers describe as a true “step-off-the-train-and-go-home” design.

By RK Shih/Staff – AI-generated image shows the dreams of some in Pingtung for significantly more transport options. PINGTUNG — A group…