A plan to develop the Taipei Railway Workshop was passed yesterday by the Taipei Urban Planning Commission, despite the protests of railroad fan groups.
Constructed by the Japanese in the 1930s, the Taipei Railway Workshop was long the most important maintenance depot of the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA).
Formerly known as the “hospital” for the nation’s trains, the 16.8 hectare site encompasses a wide range of historical architecture, including an engine room and Japanese-style bathhouse, in addition to the workshop itself.
Photo: CNA
The plan passed yesterday would allocate 19 percent of the workshop’s area to a railways museum, with an additional 24 percent of the grounds set aside for roads, gardens and green space around the museum.
The remaining 57 percent of the site is to be used for various development projects.
The development plans attracted criticism from groups seeking to preserve the site in its entirety.
Photo: Yu Pei-ju, Taipei Times
The Taipei Railway Workshop Heritage Conservation Union’s Lin Kuei-miao (林奎妙) said the site is a special piece of land which should not be broken up to make way for various development projects. He called the review process of the development plans “rushed,” urging the city to to allow time for another review and adjustments.
“Taipei does not need new shopping malls,” he said.
“The Urban Planning Commission’s decision reflects the opinion of the majority of city residents,” Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said in response to questions yesterday during a tour of the site. “The Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs has already preserved all the historic buildings and sites within the workshop complex.”
Photo: Yu Pei-ju, Taipei Times
In opening remarks at the Taipei Railroad Cultural Festival, Hau said that the site’s conversion was the latest in a series of development projects on sites of former factories close to the city center.
The establishment of special artistic districts at Huashan 1914 Creative Park and Songshan Tobacco Factory has furthered Taipei’s development in addition to fostering artistic creativity, he said.
In a separate statement, Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Liu Wei-kung (劉維公) said that centering the development of the Taipei Railway Workshop around a large railway museum would serve to distinguish the site from the Huashan and Songshan artistic districts located nearby.
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