The New Taipei City Government next month is to submit to the central government a revised plan for the second phase of the light rail network in Tamsui due to opposition from residents living along the previously planned route, a city government official said yesterday.
New Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems Deputy Director-General Lin Yao-chang (林耀長) told a meeting about the Danhai Light Rail transit system’s construction about proposed changes to the Blue Seaside Line that is to run alongside the Tamsui River (淡水河).
While the first phase of the line, which connects the existing Green Mountain Line to Tamsui Fishermen’s Wharf via the Taipei University of Marine Technology and Shalun, is expected to enter service by the end of this year, the second phase has faced opposition from local residents, he said.
The proposed second phase, which is to link Tamsui MRT Station with Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf, has a section that runs through Tamsui Old Street.
However, following a series of discussions with local residents, the department is to propose a modified route and a new plan is to be submitted to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications next month.
The new plan includes changes to the entire 4.4km light rail line to be built alongside the Tamsui River, Lin said.
To avoid the overhead power lines that would be required, impacting the riverside view, the department is studying the possibility of the vehicles to be used being battery-powered, he said.
The department plans to begin a comparative environmental impact analysis of the modified plan by the end of this year, he added.
The NT$15.3 billion (US$524.9 million) Danhai Light Rail project was approved by the Cabinet in 2013, with the 11-stop Green Mountain Line entering service in December 2018.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a