The Environment Ministry is considering extending the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) to Yilan following environmental impact assessments. A public preliminary review meeting was held this Monday to deliberate.
The extension, which would be under the Transportation Ministry’s authority and developed by the Railway Bureau, would run from THSR Nangang Station eastward 60.6 kilometers to Yilan. The journey by THSR would be 27 minutes faster than by the Taiwan Railway.
With a banner reading “Development must be fair, the East needs Taiwan High Speed Rail” (建設要公平、東部要高鐵), those in support asked the Environmental Protection Administration to consider how the expansion would provide equal development opportunities to the region.
Those opposed to the expansion requested the Control Yuan first confirm whether or not the assessment process was comprehensive and complete. They suggested suspending the environmental impact assessment and subsequent administrative procedures until the assessment results are clarified. They expressed hope that the Railway Bureau would restart the feasibility assessment and include the original Taiwan Railway proposal for comparison.
According to the Transportation Ministry’s 2020 Transportation Policy White Paper, the addition of an Yilan station could open up the railway bottleneck between Shulin and Qidu, overall improving the speed and reliability of the railway system in eastern Taiwan.