The Railway Reconstruction Bureau yesterday announced that part of the Shanli Tunnel (山里隧道) — a 5.3km tunnel seen as the most challenging part of a government plan to electrify the railway line between Hualien and Taitung because it passes through unstable land — has been operational since the end of last month.
Currently, passengers traveling south to Taitung must switch to diesel-powered trains at Hualien Station because the line between Hualien and Taitung has not been electrified.
Rather than a double-track system, trains operating between Hualien and Taitung currently run on a single-track system.
Bureau Deputy Director-General Chou Yung-huei (周永暉) said the soon-to-be electrified route would cover a total distance of 155km.
About 27km will be renovated into a double track system so that trains operating on that section need not wait for those coming in the opposite direction to pass before they can proceed, he said.
Chou said the Shanli Tunnel was one of the four new tunnels to be built as part of the project.
The other three are the Sikou (溪口), Guangfu (光復) and Zihciang (自強) tunnels.
Chou said construction of the Shanli Tunnel began in March last year, adding that workers had applied the pipe-roofing method to ensure the safety of the tunnel.
Also known as the umbrella method, pipe-roofing involves the installation of a set of parallel pipes around the contour of the tunnel. It is generally a measure used to deal with weak ground.
Chou said the bureau hoped the entire Shanli Tunnel would be operational by the end of this year. He said it planned to complete construction of the other three tunnels by the end of next year.
Electrifying the railway line between Hualien and Taitung is one of the “i-Taiwan 12 projects” that were part of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) campaign platform in 2008.
The Shanli Tunnel project, scheduled to be completed in 2013, could help reduce travel time between Taipei and Taitung from five hours to four.
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