Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) on Monday pledged to continue communicating with Yilan County residents about a planned high-speed rail extension after being accused of dividing people there.
On Saturday, Wang presided over a town hall meeting to explain to local residents the pros and cons of four potential sites for the Yilan terminal: the Sicheng (四城), Yilan, Luodong (羅東) or Yilan County Government railway stations.
Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tzu-miao (林姿妙) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀), who represents Yilan, accused the ministry of disrespecting them by not giving them presentation materials ahead of the meeting, although Lin was listed as a cohost.
Photo: CNA
“Participants at the meeting thought that the transportation ministry’s presentation was tearing Yilan apart by pitting local residents against one another,” Chen said at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee meeting on Monday.
“Should the ministry continue to handle this matter without transparency, it could evolve into a political storm, which would distort the government’s good intentions for the project,” he added.
Chen cited the conclusion of the ministry’s feasibility report on the high-speed rail extension to Yilan, which showed that the costs and benefits of building the line to any of the four locations would not vary greatly.
However, the report also said that the benefits would be relatively greater if the terminal was built in Yilan Railway Station, as more people can access the high-speed extension line from there.
That would make it easier for Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) to arrange its services for passengers transferring from the high-speed rail system, Wang said.
The report further recommended Yilan as the ideal location, as it is downtown, close to commercial districts and many public facilities, Chen said.
Local media reports said that the ministry prefers building the terminal in Sicheng, as it would involve fewer home relocations.
Wang said on the sidelines of the transportation committee meeting that he did think the ministry was dividing people, adding that the meeting gave people with different opinions the opportunity to communicate.
“We went to Yilan to present issues that might arise in each of the four locations in a professional and transparent manner, and listened to the opinions of all stakeholders. We hope everyone will think about these issues. We will continue to communicate with residents there and hope we can soon reach a consensus on the matter, ” Wang said.
The ministry did consider having the terminal built either at Yilan station or the yet-to-be-built Yilan County Government station, he said.
However, after launching an overpass railway line for the TRA service this year, accommodating the TRA and high-speed rail services in one station would be a challenging task, he added.
“First, you have to build a TRA station, which should be about 10m high. Then you have to build a 10m-high high-speed rail station above it. In between, you also need to build a 10m-high concourse for passengers to switch between the two railway services. The terminal station would be a nine-story building if it were to accommodate two railway systems,” he said.
Extending the high-speed rail line to Yilan would also involve the demolition of more than 100 buildings along the route and around the station, he added.
The ministry has contacted Yilan County officials, who were fully informed about the details of the project, he said.
“We wanted all participants to have the same information on the day of the meeting,” Wang added.
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