Intercity transportation in Taiwan relies heavily on the high-speed rail line, which runs from Taipei in the north down to Kaohsiung in the south. The trains are among the most punctual in Asia. But service was hit by disruptions last week, just before a holiday travel peak.
Taiwan’s economic development sped up dramatically in the 1970s, threatening to overwhelm transportation systems along Taiwan’s west coast. Existing highways, rail, and air connections proved insufficient.
Feasibility studies in the late 1980s concluded that a high-speed rail system would offer higher transit volumes, the lowest land use, the highest energy savings, and the least pollution compared to other options. A public-private partnership was selected for the project, where a private entity would build and operate the system initially, and then transfer the ownership and operation of the line to the government.
Two major entities submitted bids to build the project in 1996, with one relying on the platform Eurotrain, and the other supplying the Japanese Shinkansen technology. The former was chosen in 1997, but after difficulties in raising capital, and with the Japanese government offering soft loans, the bid was reopened and the project eventually moved to the Shinkansen platform.
The railway runs from Taipei in northern Taiwan to Zuoying, a suburb of Kaohsiung in the south. There are a total of 12 stations, with plans to extend the line south to Pingtung, and to Yilan in the north-east.
The rail was in the news this weekend, as it was forced to cease operations for the better part of Friday due to an accident which occured near one of its tracks. This upset many, since it happened just before a long weekend and a national holiday.
A demolition crew allowed an old silo to topple the wrong way and damage power systems which supply electricity to the train. Luckily no one got hurt, but the incident has become a spot on high-speed rail’s otherwise excellent punctuality record.