TRAFFIC: Concern over the environmental impact of building a new railway route or high-speed extension line and demand has experts questioning its necessity

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 08, 2019
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

A Ministry of Transportation and Communications proposal to build a high-speed rail extension line connecting Taipei and Yilan has drawn criticism from transportation experts, with some saying it should be the last resort to ease holiday traffic jams on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5).

Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) announced the proposal when he was visiting Yilan on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, he confirmed that the ministry has begun to assess the possibility of building the extension.

The ministry’s Railway Bureau had also started a study on the feasibility of building a railway line that goes straight from Taipei to Yilan, which would be different from the existing one which passes through the northeast coast.    [FULL  STORY]