A lawmaker from the nation’s only special municipality without a high-speed rail station said he wanted to see this changed and was convinced commuters wouldn’t mind the six-minute delay this would cause.
“Tainan is left out and it’s not fair,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) told Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) officials in the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday.
At present, TSHR express trains travel between Taipei, Banciao, Taichung and Kaohsiung cities. Tainan and three other smaller municipalities on the way are served by slower trains.
The schedule means Tainan City would be the only special municipality without a high-speed rail service, after it merges with Tainan County and is administratively upgraded on Dec. 25.
Senior THSR officials said at the meeting, held to discuss the finances of a foundation connected to the state-supported company, that they would study the feasibility of the proposal.
If passed, the additional stop would cost express commuters to or from Kaohsiung an additional six minutes, Wang said.
The proposal would take the commute time between the two busiest stations, Taipei and Zuoying in Kaohsiung City, to 1 hour and 42 minutes from 1 hour and 36 minutes.
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