The April revenue of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSR) reached NT$1.1bn (US$33m), the first time the THSR has made more than NT$1bn in revenues in a single month, according to a report submitted by the company to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
The report showed that the THSR's monthly revenue increased by an average amount ranging between NT$100m and NT$200m since it started operations Jan. 5, with NT$598m of revenue in January, NT$670m in February and NT$870m in March.
MOTC's High Speed Rail Bureau Director-general Pang Chia-lin said that while the revenue of April was higher than that of March, a lower passenger load factor of 51.87% in April compared to 55.82% in March was reported, due to an increase of trains in late March and a slower growth rate in the number of passengers.
The THSR needs to increase its passenger load factor in May before another increase of trains takes place on 1 June, Pang said, adding that the THSR also needs to provide a more convenient ticket system including online booking.
