Officials wrestle over derailed project

A Ministry of Transportation and Communications official said yesterday the airport-rail project may have lost its initial purpose -- that of being a quick, direct form of transportation between the CKS International Airport and Taipei.

Proposals now include between eight and 16 stops on the approximately 30km route, slowing the train to a crawl. In addition, the needs of international airport passengers and commuters along the train line are totally different.

"Airport travelers need spacey compartments for luggage, longer boarding time between train stops and a direct line that shuttles them to the airport as fast as possible," said James Chen (陳晉源), director-general of the ministry's department of railways and highways at a public hearing yesterday.

"That's totally different from the MRT design, which is usually jam-packed with passengers."

Chen's arguments supported a back-up plan revealed on Monday by Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san, (林陵三), who said that the cash-strapped government is inclined to turn an existing 19.2km rail line between Linkou and Taoyuan City into an MRT system connecting CKS International to Taipei.

Such a plan could be carried out for around NT$20 billion, he said.

Local government officials and representatives from neighboring townships, however, immediately voiced strong opposition at the hearing yesterday, saying the link should also provide a boost to local economies.

They argue that the government should follow through with the original 35km railway blueprint designed by the failed contractor -- Evertransit International Development Corp (長生國際開發) -- to boost land development and help the local economy along the line's proposed 16 stops.

"The urgently needed direct airport link will transport an estimated 160,000 passengers per day in 2021, with 63 percent of them being commuters along the line," said Ou Lein-fa (歐連發), head of Taipei County Government's Traffic Bureau.

County support

The county government supports using Evertransit's design scheme since its feasibility study has been approved and partial construction preparations were already underway, he said

The Taoyuan-Linkou railroad line is not a good plan since no evaluation has been done and travel time would be 20 minutes longer, he said.

"There should be no further delays since this issue will have a profound impact on national competitiveness," said Wang Liang-shiu, head of the Taipei City Government's rapid-transit-systems department.

Lin, however, has alsready said that the government needs to respect the contractor's intellectual property rights on the railway design. It's not possible, therefore, to take over Evertransit's project.

Hsinchuang City Mayor Huang Lin Ling-ling (黃林玲玲) said the ministry should compensate Evertransit for its plan and begin construction as soon as possible.

She said the plan to a build a system upon existing rail lines was laughable. She also criticized the 37.1km plan formulated by BES Engineering Corp (中華工程) -- the runner-up that is likely to take over the project next month. She said the plan won't promote local economic development.

Also endorsing the idea of building the system on Evertransit's blueprint, Jason Chang (張學孔), professor of transportation systems at National Taiwan University, said that it should be lawful for the government to take over Evertransit's failed project.