The Bureau of Taiwan High Speed Rail (
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (林陵三) said if BES agrees to the contract for the airport-rail project, it could begin construction after 60 days.
BES became eligable for the deal after Evertransit International Development Corp (
According to the report, BES has expressed interest in taking over the project, vowing that it will not "give up any opportunity," and will re-evaluate the design scheme and conduct negotiations with the government after studying the contract. The original 35km railway blueprint designed six years ago, including transport routes, passenger volume, ticket fares and financing details, needs to be reviewed and updated, BES said.
BES has 15 days to decide whether it will take over the project, Lin said, at which time it will be required to seal the agreement with the bureau within 45 days.
The ministry will respect Taipei County officials' input regarding the direct airport link and make the best decision after taking into consideration the overall transportation planning picture, Lin said.
Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (
Cabinet spokesman Chuang Shuo-han (
If BES decides to pass on the project, the government may re-open another round of bidding, or it may side with one of its back-up plans. One plan calls for adding an 8km extension to the north-south Taiwan high-speed rail system, from Ching-pu station to the CKS International.
Another alternative would be to extend the 19.2km coal-line railway section between Linkou and Taoyuan City to the airport, allowing travelers take that railway system non-stop to the airport.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
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