Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) yesterday defended the choice of a new location for a proposed high-speed rail (HSR) station in Yilan County, saying that it was supported by residents and the ministry followed proper procedures in planning the project.
Wang on Sunday confirmed that a site 350m south of Yilan County Hall was found to be the optimal location to build the station from among five sites that ministry officials proposed.
Wang was asked on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to respond to criticisms that the ministry did not follow administrative procedure in selecting the site.
Photo courtesy of Taoyuan Metro Corp via CNA
“The ministry has since November 2019 entrusted consulting firms with the task of evaluating the possibility of building a high-speed rail extension line to Yilan. Before finalizing the site for the terminal station, we listened to opinions from Yilan County residents and experts,” Wang told reporters. “The new location south of Yilan County Hall is accepted by almost everybody, and the procedures we have followed to plan for the project were complete.”
Before a fifth location was proposed, ministry officials deliberated over four sites for the HSR station — at Yilan Station, Luodong Station and Sicheng Station, as well as a yet-to-be built station near the Yilan County Hall. Residents in Yilan were also divided over where the terminal station should be built.
The fifth location was accepted by a majority of Yilan County residents, except those in Jiaosi Township (礁溪), Wang said.
“A consulting firm we hired overlooked the need to balance the development of areas north and south of Lanyang River (蘭陽溪). Most residents find the fifth option generally acceptable because it addresses that concern,” he said.
Once the HSR extension opens, there would be shuttle buses connecting the station and nearby townships, he said, adding that shuttle bus trips would take about 10 to 20 minutes.
The route would also bypass downtown Yilan, and the construction would not interfere with that of Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) elevated rail, he added.
The HSR operator can develop properties surrounding the station, Wang said.
Constructions of the TRA’s elevated rail, which would be parallel to the high-speed rail extension line, are to begin in 2024 and be completed by 2032.
Wang on Sunday told reporters that a comprehensive plan for the extension project is to be completed by the end of the year, and must be approved by the ministry.
Construction on the extension line is expected to begin in 2025 after a review by the environmental impact assessment committee at the Environmental Protection Administration, he said, adding that the project is expected to be finished by 2036.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS