Taiwan Railway Corp is assessing the possibility of rerouting the North Link Line after an earthquake in Hualien County that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale on April 3 destabilized ecological conditions along the route.
Following the earthquake, landslides damaged railway tracks on the 72.9km railway line connecting Yilan County’s Suao Township (蘇澳) and Hualien County, with mudflows covering the railway tracks a few times.
The section between Heren (和仁) and Chongde (崇德) — 10.1km in length — is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Railway Corp
Siaocingshui Bridge (小清水溪橋) in the section in July was destroyed when the nation was under the influence of Super Typhoon Gaemi.
A new bridge designed to withstand floods would not open for operation until Dec. 21.
The state-run railway company is studying three possible options — building an overpass along the coastline, drilling a new tunnel inland or improving the safety of the existing route.
The railway route could be affected by receding coastline if a new route is to be built by the sea, while the stations would have to be relocated if a new tunnel is to be drilled inland, the company said.
Before the railway line is rerouted, the company said it would improve the safety of the existing route by dredging, installing surveillance systems and building open-cut tunnels.
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