The Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) is the name of the island's high-speed rail line. The line runs from Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung in the south. The line started operating in 2007 as an alternative to existing conventional rail lines and air routes.
The HSR stretches 345 kilometers. Its operating speed is 300 kilometers per hour, meaning a trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung takes only 96 minutes. Nearly a third of the line consists of elevated tracks on superstructures.
Surprising to some is that most of the HSR stations, even for major population areas, are built on rural farmland removed from urban centers. The idea behind this decision was to encourage development in those areas.
The HSR project kicked off in 1990 after the transportation ministry concluded a high-speed rail would be the most efficient way to ease western Taiwan's traffic congestion. Construction plans then passed the legislature in 1993. The construction process started in 2001 and lasted seven years. Service began on January 5, 2007, with the last station—Taipei—opening two months later. The total cost of the project is estimated at over NT$480 billion, or roughly US$15 billion at the time.
Controversy around the HSR erupted in June 2011, when subsidence—or sinking of the earth—was discovered along one stretch of the elevated line. The phenomenon is caused by excessive draining of underground water, as a means of dealing with ongoing water shortages in the region. Officials have said that if the problem is not solved, the HSR may be forced to cease operations in just ten years.