The nation’s oldest railroad is set to be restored by the Keelung City Government, which has said it plans to apply to have the railroad and its tunnels recognized as a national heritage site following the two-year repair project.
Work on the railroad and tunnels began in 1888 under the orders of then-Taiwan governor Liu Mingchuan (劉銘傳) and was finished in 1890.
It was the first railway line in the nation and is the only remaining railway section laid down during China’s Qing Dynasty.
Photo: Lu Hsiu-hsien, Taipei Times
Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that restoration efforts would begin with the railroad and tunnels and include nearby areas, including a cannon at Shihchiuling (獅球嶺), as well as general development for Aboriginal communities in the region.
The heritage site, at the end of Chongde Road in Anle District (安樂), has suffered severe wind corrosion as well as blockage of its underground pipes, and since a section of the middle tunnel collapsed in 2009, the site has been sealed off from the public.
Despite having completed designs for the restoration, the city government is caught in a quandary due to multiple ownership of the land, as it is shared between the Ministry of National Defense, the National Property Administration (NPA) and the Forestry Bureau.
The Ministry of Culture had stipulated that the restoration project be put on hold until the city government acquired ownership of the land, which it has achieved by way of the NPA ceding ownership and the defense ministry designating the city government as temporary guardian of its share of the land.
Total costs could be as much as NT$112 million (US$3.5 million), though the culture ministry has agreed to subsidize the project to the effect of NT$35 million, leaving the city government looking at a tab of NT$76 million.
The project is set to begin in April and is looking at two years of construction time, the city government said.
Aside from restoring the tunnel itself, the city government is also looking at rejuvenating local tourist sites and villages.
Keelung Bureau of Culture Director Peng Chun-hsiang (彭俊享) said the railway had played an important role in the history of the nation’s development, adding that the city government is mulling plans to apply for the site to be recognized as a national heritage area once the restoration project is finished.
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