The Ministry of Transportation and Communications on Monday pledged to limit the number of households that would be asked to relocate if a high-speed rail (HSR) extension line to Pingtung County goes through downtown Kaohsiung.
Lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee asked Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) about plans to extend the HSR to Pingtung County from Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營).
The government identified four possible routes for the planned line, but it is likely to settle on one that would pass through downtown Kaohsiung, said Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤), who represents Kaohsiung’s fifth electoral district, primarily comprising Sanmin District (三民).
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
The government had previously selected a route that would link Zuoying HSR Station — which is about 5km north of Kaohsiung Station — directly to Pingtung County, bypassing Sanmin District, but that would have taken it through the city’s petrochemical industry zone, Lee said.
While that route would have shared the same corridor as a planned expressway connecting Kaohsiung and Pingtung, the option is hindered by a space issue at the HSR depot in Zuoying, he said.
“It seems that the government is likely to choose the route from Kaohsiung Railway Station to Pingtung,” he said. “If so, the government should minimize the impact of construction on residents by reducing the number of homes that need to be relocated.”
The extension line should have three tracks instead of four near Kaohsiung Station and public property should be prioritized to limit expropriation of private holdings, he said.
The ministry should also address problems that people encounter when they are forced to relocate, Lee said.
He added that the ministry should communicate with the Kaohsiung City Government on joint development of the greater Kaohsiung area through the extension line.
Chen said that he had met with Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and discussed how the proposed construction would affect the city’s urban renewal and other planning.
“We will work with the Kaohsiung City Government to ensure that construction would comply with the city’s great urban renewal plan,” he added.
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