Taiwan's multibillion-NT dollar high-speed rail network will eventually connect with the planned metro mass rapid transit (MRT) systems in the cities of Taichung, Hsinchu, Taoyuan and Tainan, the transport ministry said yesterday.
"We anticipate that this will bring a huge saving in commute time for people around the island," said Liao Ching-lung (
The 300km railway, scheduled for completion in 2005, will take passengers from Keelung in the north to Kaohsiung in the south in an estimated 90 minutes.
Another two-line MRT project is now scheduled to break ground in Kaohsiung this year, but MOTC officials did not say whether this network would be connected with the high-speed rail terminal in the southern port city.
Liao declined to put a timetable on the proposed MRT projects, but said he hoped they would be finished the same time as the rail network.
"Our time frame is not very clear right now. The Cabinet has to decide on a schedule for construction. We can only make suggestions," he said. Liao also declined to speculate as to which network is most likely to open first.
"How quickly the project gets off the ground also depends on private-sector involvement. We are very eager to attract private-sector financing and participation in the project," he said.
Just last week, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC,
The bureau is currently studying proposals for recruiting private-sector partners in the four cities.
A preliminary report on private-sector involvement in the Taichung MRT system will be ready by June, he said.
All four MRT networks, like the high-speed rail system, will be run on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.
Second-round environmental impact assessments have been completed in Taichung and Tainan, while Taoyuan and Hsinchu are still at the preliminary stages.
Final proposals for the four networks are currently under review at the ministry, he said.
"Interactions with local gov-ernments are going very well right now," although land use issues have been the most difficult to settle, he said.
Taoyuan
From Chungli to CKS International Airport
Hsinchu
Plan not yet finalized. First-stage environmental impact assessment finished
Taichung
Blue Line: From Tunghai University to Taichung Railway Station
Red Line: From Wufeng township to Taichung Railway Station
Green Line: From Peitun to Taichung High-Speed Rail Station
Tainan
From the city center to the Tainan Science-Based Industrial Park via Tainan Railway Station
Source: Bureau of Taiwan High-Speed Rail
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about 1,900 as
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS