TAIWAN’s premier, Cho Jung-tai, has confirmed that the Yilan-Luodong railway elevation project will proceed. The project, which was approved by the National Development Council in December, will introduce grade separation on a 16km section of the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) Yilan main line, from Sicheng to Dongshan Drainage bridge, in the northeast of the island.
The project will eliminate nine level crossings, four overpasses and four underpasses, at an estimated cost of $NT 50.1bn ($US 1.6bn). Stations in Yilan, Erjie, Jhongli and Luodong will be rebuilt as part of the project with a new station added at County Government Center.
Plans to elevate Yilan’s railway date back to 1993, when the now-defunct Taiwan provincial government proposed a study on railway grade separation, according to The Taipei Times. Cho says that after more than three decades of planning, the project has reached a major turning point.
To proceed, the project requires the legislative branch of the Taiwan government to approve a funding bill. Once secured, Cho says the government can finalise the funding schedule for the project, which is targeted for completion by 2035.
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