Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) yesterday defended the choice of a new location for a proposed high-speed rail (HSR) station in Yilan County, saying that it was supported by residents and the ministry followed proper procedures in planning the project.
Wang on Sunday confirmed that a site 350m south of Yilan County Hall was found to be the optimal location to build the station from among five sites that ministry officials proposed.
Wang was asked on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to respond to criticisms that the ministry did not follow administrative procedure in selecting the site.
Photo courtesy of Taoyuan Metro Corp via CNA
“The ministry has since November 2019 entrusted consulting firms with the task of evaluating the possibility of building a high-speed rail extension line to Yilan. Before finalizing the site for the terminal station, we listened to opinions from Yilan County residents and experts,” Wang told reporters. “The new location south of Yilan County Hall is accepted by almost everybody, and the procedures we have followed to plan for the project were complete.”
Before a fifth location was proposed, ministry officials deliberated over four sites for the HSR station — at Yilan Station, Luodong Station and Sicheng Station, as well as a yet-to-be built station near the Yilan County Hall. Residents in Yilan were also divided over where the terminal station should be built.
The fifth location was accepted by a majority of Yilan County residents, except those in Jiaosi Township (礁溪), Wang said.
“A consulting firm we hired overlooked the need to balance the development of areas north and south of Lanyang River (蘭陽溪). Most residents find the fifth option generally acceptable because it addresses that concern,” he said.
Once the HSR extension opens, there would be shuttle buses connecting the station and nearby townships, he said, adding that shuttle bus trips would take about 10 to 20 minutes.
The route would also bypass downtown Yilan, and the construction would not interfere with that of Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) elevated rail, he added.
The HSR operator can develop properties surrounding the station, Wang said.
Constructions of the TRA’s elevated rail, which would be parallel to the high-speed rail extension line, are to begin in 2024 and be completed by 2032.
Wang on Sunday told reporters that a comprehensive plan for the extension project is to be completed by the end of the year, and must be approved by the ministry.
Construction on the extension line is expected to begin in 2025 after a review by the environmental impact assessment committee at the Environmental Protection Administration, he said, adding that the project is expected to be finished by 2036.
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