Amid government plans to extend Taiwan’s high speed rail (HSR) network to Pingtung and Yilan, Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (???) on Wednesday expressed an ambition to establish a round-the-island service.

Having already started preliminary work on HSR extensions between Zuoying Station and Liukuaicuo Station in Pingtung County, and between Nangang Station and a proposed new station in Yilan County, Wang told Yahoo TV the ministry’s long-term goal was to make the service available across the island.

However, Wang said that related work should be carried out “section by section” due to high construction costs.

In 2019, the ministry announced plans to extend the HSR network from its southern terminus in Zuoying, Kaohsiung City eastward to Pingtung, a project that is projected to cost NT$55.4 billion (US$1.9 billion).

Earlier this year, the ministry also finalized the location of the new HSR station near the Yilan County government complex, as part of a proposed NT$188 billion extension down the east coast from the network’s current northern terminus at Nangang, Taipei City.

While both projects are currently undergoing environmental impact assessments, the ministry has said that construction, which is expected to take 10 years to complete, could begin as early as 2025.

Should the ministry’s plans be realized, the existing 350-kilometer network between Nangang Station and Zuoying Station will reach parts of eastern Taiwan long known for relatively poor transport connections.

Wang also commented on plans to corporatize the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) by 2024, saying the ministry was open to raising train fares once safety and service quality was assured, particularly given that the TRA had been running an average annual deficit of NT$5 billion for the past five years.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel