The Cabinet has approved a NT$7.8 billion (US$244.6 million) proposal to harden the railroads in Taiwan proper’s eastern and southern regions against natural disasters over five years, beginning this year, officials said yesterday.
The central government and state-run rail corporation would provide 97.5 percent and 2.5 percent of the funds respectively, they said.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wu Sheng-yuan (伍勝園) said the railroad plan does not require any financial contribution from the Hualien County Government, because the project is part of the national infrastructure.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications and Taiwan Railway Corporation recommended the proposal to build rock sheds and barriers in the Northbound Link, reconstruct two bridges, and relocate Chongde (崇德) station near Hualien to a new location, officials said.
The most difficult and expensive part of the project is stretches in Hualien County, especially the length of the rail between Sioulin (秀林) and Chongde townships, they said.
The region’s proximity to the central mountain range and the Pacific Ocean makes the railroad vulnerable to risks associated with typhoons and torrential rains, such rock falls and landslides, they said.
Moving Chongde Station to a location inside the village is a measure aimed at mitigating the risks posed by mountainside mud-and-stone flows and increasing the community’s access to the railhead, officials said.
The budget is part of this year’s general budget that has stalled amid the deadlock at the Legislative Yuan, officials said.
The opposition, which holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, should fund this program by passing this year’s general budget, Wu said.
As a new policy proposal, the project cannot draw from past government budget surpluses, he said, he said, adding that this means no construction could be carried out without the legislature’s approval of the new budget.
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