January 06, 2007	Saturday	Zilhaj 15, 1427

TAIPEI, Jan 5: A bullet train service as fast as Japan’s Shinkansen opened in Taiwan on Friday after a decade of planning and doubts about whether it would fly -- plus an embarrassing last-minute ticketing glitch.

The $15 billion bullet train, which experienced fund-raising problems before the launch, aims to cut travel time between the capital of Taipei and Kaohsiung city 345km away in the south, to 90 minutes from four to five hours by car.

At 7am (2300 GMT) on Friday, a sold-out train with 989 seats and a black, white and orange engine resembling the nose of jetliner quietly and smoothly headed south.

“It’s something brand new for us,” said Taipei passenger Luo Pei-yi, 30, of Taipei, as she prepared to board the first train with three relatives.

“I’m not nervous -- very relaxed. So many people have ridden this before,” Luo said, referring to trial runs.

Many passengers took children and cameras on board at the Banciao station in Taipei county heading to Taichung in the middle of the island or Tsoying in the southern county of Kaohsiung. The line will eventually extend to central Taipei and the heart of urban Kaohsiung.

The bullet trains are capable of travelling at speeds of up to 315km per hour and will ferry 150,000 passengers per day initially.

“We hope all is smooth and will step up all efforts,” said Ou Chin-der, chief executive officer of the bullet train operator, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.

“I think my colleagues are all very excited. They’re also very serious, and there's also some pressure.”

Much of the pressure came from a day and a half of ticket sales glitches. About 18,000 of the 87,000 tickets sold on Thursday were duplicates, following more than three hours of standing in line for some passengers.

Ou said everyone would somehow get a seat. Local media reported that the rail corporation might add eight more trains over the next two days.—Reuters