FEATURE: Experts call organizational change at TRA necessary to address safety issues
By Lee Hsin-Yin / CNA
Government officials have advocated “reforming” the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) following the nation’s worst train crash in decades the derailment of a Taroko Express train in Hualien County on April 2 that left 49 people dead and more than 200 injured.
Such appeals are nothing new official also called for TRA reform after a crash in Yilan County in October 2018 left 18 people dead, but not much has happened since.
However, the calls after the Taroko Express crash seem louder, focusing on the “corporatization” of the government agency.
On train safety, reform rhetoric easy; now comes the hard part
04/28/2021 07:34 PM
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A Taiwan Railways Administration employee mourns victims in the April 2 Taroko Express train crash, including two of his colleagues. CNA photo April 8, 2021
By Lee Hsin-Yin, CNA staff reporter
Taiwan s president, premier and new transportation minister have all advocated reforming the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) following its worst train accident in 73 years on April 2 that left 49 people dead and over 200 injured.
Such appeals are nothing new they were also uttered after a crash in October 2018 in which 18 people died but were not acted on.
That s the most recent advice from Morgan Stanley s Chief US Equity Strategist Mike Wilson.
Wilson is keeping his price target for the S&P 500 at 3,900 about 1% below the index s closing price on Monday even though he expects the pace of the economy s recovery to remain strong. Ellen Zentner, his firm s chief US economist, recently raised her forecast for 2021 US GDP to 7.6% from 6.6% because of the large fiscal stimulus that s expected in the form of checks to Americans.
So what gives, and why isn t Wilson following suit with a price-target hike? The S&P 500 index has already priced in much of the expected economic gains for the months ahead, he says.