Despite construction difficulties and routing debates, transportation officials yesterday expressed confidence that the Neihu line of the Mass Rapid Transit will be completed by June 2008.
"Neihu is developing fast but its roads are poorly planned, which leads to congestion," said Chen Yaw-wei (
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The Neihu line is expected to go a long way toward alleviating traffic in the Neihu and Nankang areas. The Neihu line will be an extension of the already-existing Mucha line.
It will run north along Fuxing North Road from the Neihu line's Chungshan Middle School station.
The elevated line will go underground as it makes a stop at Sungshan Domestic Airport. The line will then cross the Keelung River via a tunnel to the Dazhi Station before going above ground again and continuing toward Neihu and its final destination at the Nangkang Business Park North station, which will connect to the MRT's Nankang line.
Project office director Kao Chung-cheng (高宗正) said yesterday that flooding considerations and narrow roads pose challenges for the construction on the Neihu line. He said that construction could only take place between December and April in several areas due to flooding considerations.
Neihu is situated between mountains and the Keelung River.
Chen said, "Within just 100m, there are points along the [Neihu line] that are 15m underground and others that are 50m under ground."
Another problem that has surfaced involves Neihu's complex underground drainage and electricity system. Because of the density of drainage pipes and electricity cables underground, along with the narrowness of many of Neihu's roads, DORTS has had to work around many constraints.
According to Chen, underground drainage box culverts -- concrete boxes that encase pipes and utility lines -- are located in the middle of many roads. Before construction on MRT infrastructure can begin, new culverts have to be built.
Debate over the Neihu line's route has also helped delay the process. One portion of the line passes by the Nankang Exhibition Hall on three sides, and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council has called for the route to be changed or the section to be built underground.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it