Taipei mayor-elect Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien’s (林聰賢) proposal yesterday to back direct rail service between Taipei and Yilan was yesterday criticized by transport experts, who said that such an important decision should not be made by politicians alone.
Former National Chiao Tung University associate professor Huang Tai-shen (黃台生) said the purpose of Ko and Lin’s meeting was for the two men to show support for the project.
However, the proposal would have to be evaluated by the Environmental Protection Administration’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Committee, to determine the project’s viability, Huang said.
National Taiwan University professor Jason Chang (張學孔) said that while he applauded Ko’s efforts to collaborate with county commissioners in an attempt to raise the overall standard of the Greater Taipei area’s transportation infrastructure, Ko should consult professionals over potentially problematic issues.
“The Railway Reconstruction Bureau has done a comprehensive study of the proposed project’s impact on the transportation system as well as on the environment,” Chang said, suggesting Ko talk with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications first before he made any specific decisions.
Taiwan Water Conservation Union spokesperson Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) called on Ko to understand the geography of the area where the proposed rail line would run, and gain a proper perspective of the implications.
“The proposed route is in a fault zone — a collection of fault lines — and is susceptible to landslides, not to mention that it would pass through Feitsui Reservoir’s (翡翠水庫) catchment area, which is an ecologically sensitive zone,” she said. “There are other municipalities that have a much more urgent need to develop transportation systems than Taipei. Ko should consult his staff and carry out a comprehensive assessment before making decisions.”
Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan member Tsai Chung-Yueh (蔡中岳) said it is almost impossible that the route proposed by Lin would pass an EIA, given its potential destructive impact on Greater Taipei’s water resources.
“Ko’s ‘fast, furious, and effective’ way of working while connecting patients to the extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation system will not work in this case, not with how an EIA works,” he said. “Ko should gain an understanding of the plan, not just listen to Lin’s side of the story.”
Railway Reconstruction Bureau Deputy Director-General Tang Jih-horng (唐繼宏) said that the bureau had previously proposed two different routes to be considered for the project, adding that in an April meeting representatives from the Taipei City Government opposed the proposed route cutting through the reservoir.
“We have chosen the route that would bypass the reservoir and have already conducted assessments on the project’s impact on the environment, with the final report scheduled to be submitted at the beginning of next year,” Tang said.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Frank Fan (范植谷) said the ministry respects the local governments’ opinions on the project, adding that there is room for further discussion as the project is still at the planning stage.
The route endorsed by Ko and Lin was the bureau’s first proposed option — to run from NanKang RailwaymStation to South of Toucheng Township (頭城) in Yilan County.
The second option would connect Taipei’s Nangang (南港) District and Toucheng, which is about 53km away. However, it would be constructed by going through Shuansi District (雙溪) in New Taipei City and Dasi(大溪) in Yilan County.
Construction costs for the two projects are estimated at NT$45.8 billion and NT$49.1 billion respectively (US$1.47 billion and US$1.58 billion).
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS