Plans to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) network to Pingtung County could be finalized by the end of the year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Li Men-yen (李孟諺) said yesterday, adding the ministry is also considering extending the HSR network to Taitung County.
The ministry is considering a route that would pass through Kaohsiung and possibly go underground to avoid reducing farmland, Li said.
The plan could expedite urban renewal projects for rural Kaohsiung, Li added.
Photo: CNA
The original plans involved starting at the Zuoying HSR Station in Kaohsiung, crossing Houin River (後勁) and terminating in Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝), but a review found that the railway line would be too close to petrochemical plants, the ministry said.
The ministry amended the project, but in an exclusive report published earlier this month, the Central News Agency said that the amended route was still problematic, as it would create a branch at the Zuoying HSR Station.
Putting in additional railway lines and signals at Zuoying would prove difficult, and any problems on the Pingtung route would cause congestion, as there would be a backlog of trains at Zuoying, the report said.
The ministry has discussed the concerns with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp and experts on Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains, and is considering new routes, Li said.
The previous alternative plan for the railway to be extended into Kaohsiung and then travel to Lioukuaicuo was unfeasible as some of the municipality’s railway networks had been moved underground more than a decade ago and the plan would be disruptive to the public, he said.
The new plan would extend the HSR line to Fengshan District (鳳山), which would affect about 30 residences, and the Kaohsiung City Government could also consider using the space for urban renewal projects to benefit former residents, Li said.
If the HSR’s Pingtung route dovetails with existing Kaohsiung lines, it could benefit Kaohsiung and attract more businesses, he said.
The previous Kaohsiung plan was estimated to cost NT$120 billion (US$3.65 billion), but that quote was supplied five to six years ago and the costs would have increased, he said.
Li said that the ministry is considering extending the HSR network to Taitung County.
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