Taipei, April 22 (CNA) The government has approved construction on a major new rail line Tuesday that will directly link Taipei to the northeastern county of Yilan, a route that could save travelers up to 38 minutes of travel time as soon as the year 2026.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said Tuesday that it approved the NT$49.1 billion (US$1.62 billion) project, which is expected to take 11 years to complete once the proposal has passed an environmental impact assessment.
Plans call for a 53-kilometer line departing from Nangang Railway Station in Taipei City and heading through 35.8 km of tunnels under the Hsueshan Range to end in Toucheng Township in Yilan County, according to the MOTC's Railway Reconstruction Bureau.
That would reduce train travel time from Taipei to Yilan to just 47 minutes on the fastest trains, saving commuters 18 minutes from the Taroko Express or Puyuma-class trains on the current route and 38 minutes from the time it currently takes on Tzu Chiang express trains.
Currently the only option for rail travel is the 72-km stretch of the Yilan and North-Link lines, which wraps around the Hsueshan Range and takes 65 minutes on Taroko Express or Puyuma trains and 85 minutes on Tzu Chiang trains.
Travel times from Taipei to Hualien further down the east coast would be reduced from 118-138 minutes to just 100 minutes, the ministry said.
Once the line opens, it is expected to serve over 4,000 passengers per hour during the peak traffic times, according to ministry estimates.
The MOTC has proposed the new line in the hopes of easing holiday traffic on the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) during the holidays, particularly at sections around the Hsuehshan Tunnel.
The project was previously rejected by the Environmental Protection Administration's (EPA) Environmental Impact Assessment Committee because the route would pass through the ecologically sensitive area around a reservoir providing water to greater Taipei.
The ministry sought to revive the plan in 2009 by developing an alternative route that bypasses the area.
(By Wang Shu-fen and Evelyn Kao)
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