Construction of the new Fengyuan Railway Station in Greater Taichung is scheduled to be completed by 2016, which could stimulate development in the area, the Railway Reconstruction Bureau said yesterday.
Bureau Deputy Director Zhou Yong-huei (周永暉) said the new station was part of the bureau’s Taichung Metropolitan Area Overpass Railway Project.
The overpass will be about 21km long, Zhou said. As some sections will be built above existing railway tracks, the bureau will need to switch to a temporary route for the railways to facilitate construction, he said.
The bureau mobilized 1,550 workers for the track switch project, Zhou said, which was completed on Dec. 28. Two electricity relay rooms and about 20 railway signals have also been relocated to sites near the temporary route.
Fengyuan station handles about 17,000 railway passengers each day, or half that of the Banciao Railway Station in New Taipei City (新北市). The temporary route in Fengyuan is 1.72km long, he said.
After the switch, the second platform would be torn down to build the overpass railway tracks Zhou said. Fengyuan Station will be constructed on the overpass.
An architect has been hired to do a preliminary design of the new station, Zhou said.
As Fengyuan was historically renowned for its timber, the architect designed the station using log imagery, he said.
Meanwhile, Zhou said the overpass would help eliminate 17 railway crossings along the current railway route.
Following the merger of Taichung City and Taichung County into Greater Taichung, Fengyuan Station will function as the northern branch of Taichung Railway Station, he said.
“In the past, the front and rear of Fengyuan Station were not equally developed,” Zhou said. “After the station is elevated onto the overpass, the open space under the overpass will help increase and improve traffic flow between the two areas.”
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