The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday said that it has budgeted NT$158 million (US$4.68 million) for the repair and restoration of the Tainan Railway Station, with work scheduled to begin in September.
The station was established in 1900, but its main building was not built until 1936. The Ministry of Culture designated the station a national historic site in 1998.
More than 25,000 people pass through the station daily, the TRA said.
Photo: CNA
Repairs are needed because of a water leak in the ceiling of the station lobby, but all restoration and repair work has to following the guidelines in the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法), the agency said.
The restoration project also includes the station staff office, platforms and railway police post, and is scheduled to take three years.
During the Japanese colonial era, the station’s second floor was a railway hotel, the only one in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that the hotel had eight rooms and a restaurant with kitchen.
The second floor has been closed to the public for many years and has been severely damaged by pests.
The agency said it wants to restore the station facilities as much as possible to their 1936 state and reopen the hotel and restaurant.
The TRA has also budgeted NT$24.90 million to fix the Shanjia Station, which the New Taipei City Government has designated an historic site. The work is scheduled to be completed in August.
Three stations along the Neiwan branch line (內灣支線) in Hsinchu County are also being renovated, at a cost of NT$58 million, with work due to be completed by the end of the year. The line was constructed to serve the logging industry.
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