On Saturday, the Railway Bureau of the Ministry of Transport announced that the extension plan for the High Speed Rail South to Pingtung will be renewed in January 2025.
“The funding will definitely be adjusted, but it is still being estimated, and the period will be postponed. I believe it will be postponed. I believe it will be beneficial to Kaohsiung’s century-old development, the wait is worth it. The Railway Bureau has also established a high-speed rail south extension planning working platform with the Kaohsiung city Government and will hold relevant meetings as soon as possible” said the official from the Railway Bureau.
In addition to that, the Railway Bureau requested the City Government to promote the ‘Dadu Renewal Plan’ which is related to the issues around the Kaohsiung station and the interface with the MRT Yellow Line project. This will help the Railway system to deduct the traffic impact. Also, they have pointed out the intention of selecting the Zuoying case due to the shorter route, shorter construction period, lower funds and easier engineering technology. But a strong opposition was raised against this because of the potential public safety risks. The previous year, continuous discussions took place over the two-high screen sections of some road sections which are expected to align. It was told by the Japanese manufacturer that it was not appropriate & many engineering problems had been found in the Kaohsiung case. So, the discussions began in the past six months.
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It has been assured by the Railway Bureau that the new route, length and its cost will be twice that of the original Zuoying case but it will be well-constructed in the future with no difference.
“The surrounding areas of Kaohsiung Station have been unable to keep up with the changes of the times over the years. The construction team is required to properly plan the construction period and safety, and strive to reduce the impact” said Zhuo Rongtai, Executive Director.
