Minister of Transportation Yeh Kuang-shih recently announced that the Ministry would soon begin studying the feasibility of building a rail line connecting Hengchun to Fangliao, calling it a "very important upcoming task". When asked by a reporter he also said that an extension to Kending is a possibility.
While I hope this does turn out to be feasible, I do wonder whether this should be a priority compared to other projects, like expanding capacity around Taipei and Taoyuan, building a direct rail line between Taipei and Yilan, or even adding branches or a second main line between Taichung and Tainan. All those projects would affect far more people on a daily basis, whereas Yeh claims the purpose of this rail line would be to attract tourists rather than locals. Maybe tourist traffic will turn out to be enough to justify this line, but the article implies that Kending only gets high numbers of tourists at certain times. If that is the case then bus-only lanes might be a more cost-effective solution. This focus on tourist infrastructure is a common theme in Taiwan, and while I'm not sure what the reasons for it are, I think Yeh's comment that "rail construction is a never-ending job" hints at a desire to find excuses to keep building things (though to be fair there are plenty of worthwhile projects that need to be done).
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Ridership Predictions for Huilong and Danfeng
Ahead of the opening of the Xinzhuang Line extension to Danfeng and Huilong this Saturday, the New Taipei Transportation Bureau predicted that the two stations will attract 21,000 rides a day (7,665,000 a year). This isn't very good compared to the ridership numbers for the Xinzhuang Line last year, though at least neither station is likely to end up in the bottom ten.
In the same article the Transportation Bureau also claims that from Huilong to Minquan W. Rd. will take 22 minutes, and to Zhongxiao Xinsheng will take 28, making taking the MRT faster than taking a bus. There are a few problems with this though: for one thing, not many people want to go to those two stations, and because the Xinzhuang Line goes all the way to the Taipei Bridge before entering Taipei, the MRT will actually be less competitive for people going to some more popular destinations, especially Taipei Main and Ximen. In fact, two of Taipei's five most popular bus routes in 2011 took more direct routes to link Xinzhuang to Ximen and Taipei Main, showing that those routes, and not one that goes all the way to Minquan W. Rd., is where the most demand for Xinzhuang-Taipei transit is. Furthermore, part of the goal of the MRT should be attracting drivers rather than just replacing buses. It should be a given that the MRT would outpace buses, the real question should be is it faster than driving.
In the same article the Transportation Bureau also claims that from Huilong to Minquan W. Rd. will take 22 minutes, and to Zhongxiao Xinsheng will take 28, making taking the MRT faster than taking a bus. There are a few problems with this though: for one thing, not many people want to go to those two stations, and because the Xinzhuang Line goes all the way to the Taipei Bridge before entering Taipei, the MRT will actually be less competitive for people going to some more popular destinations, especially Taipei Main and Ximen. In fact, two of Taipei's five most popular bus routes in 2011 took more direct routes to link Xinzhuang to Ximen and Taipei Main, showing that those routes, and not one that goes all the way to Minquan W. Rd., is where the most demand for Xinzhuang-Taipei transit is. Furthermore, part of the goal of the MRT should be attracting drivers rather than just replacing buses. It should be a given that the MRT would outpace buses, the real question should be is it faster than driving.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Fixing Taoyuan's Sidewalks
Last week the Liberty Times reported that Taoyuan is planning on spending NT$400 million on improving sidewalks along 10 roads as part of becoming a directly governed municipality. Specific improvements include installing more durable tiles, fixing broken sidewalks, leveling out sidewalks so that steps will be only 8 to 10 centimeters high, and eliminating some transformers. According to Taoyuan Mayor Su Jiaming, these improvements are part of the Interior Ministry's "People-oriented" policy of making cities more livable and creating more ecological and accessible environment. The project is expected to be completed before 2015.
Any improvement to Taiwan's sidewalks is good news, and it is especially encouraging that they mention leveling out sidewalks- walking on sidewalks Taiwan often involves a lot up and down. (Though given the job they've done in Yonghe I'm skeptical how great the improvement will be.) That said, it's disappointing that this article doesn't mention two of the largest problems facing pedestrians in Taiwan: nonexistent sidewalks on streets wide enough to have them (contrary to recent Taipei policy, lanes should not have separate sidewalks), and scooters and cars blocking sidewalks, often illegally. These two problems often force pedestrians to share the street with speeding cars, or at best to zigzag around parked vehicles. The problem with resolving these problems is they require taking away parking spaces, which politicians are loathe to do for fear of incensing drivers. Given how dense Taipei's cities are, though, it makes little sense to coddle drivers at the expense of walkers' safety and comfort. If Taiwan is serious about mass transit, environmentalism and creating quieter, safer, and less polluted cities, this would be the best place to start.
Any improvement to Taiwan's sidewalks is good news, and it is especially encouraging that they mention leveling out sidewalks- walking on sidewalks Taiwan often involves a lot up and down. (Though given the job they've done in Yonghe I'm skeptical how great the improvement will be.) That said, it's disappointing that this article doesn't mention two of the largest problems facing pedestrians in Taiwan: nonexistent sidewalks on streets wide enough to have them (contrary to recent Taipei policy, lanes should not have separate sidewalks), and scooters and cars blocking sidewalks, often illegally. These two problems often force pedestrians to share the street with speeding cars, or at best to zigzag around parked vehicles. The problem with resolving these problems is they require taking away parking spaces, which politicians are loathe to do for fear of incensing drivers. Given how dense Taipei's cities are, though, it makes little sense to coddle drivers at the expense of walkers' safety and comfort. If Taiwan is serious about mass transit, environmentalism and creating quieter, safer, and less polluted cities, this would be the best place to start.
Monday, June 10, 2013
MRT Expansion Plans: The Wugu-Taishan Line
 |
| Proposed route of the Wugu-Taishan Line, from the New Taipei Dept. of Transportation website. The Wugu-Taishan Line is red, the Airport Line is green, the Circular Line is yellow and the Luzhou Line is orange. |
Recently plans were unveiled for a Luzhou-Wugu-Taishan light rail line, which would run roughly parallel to the western edge of the Taipei Basin to link Luzhou Station in the north to the Airport Line in the south. It will parallel the Circular Line and serve built-up areas of Wugu that would otherwise be far from any MRT station even once other currently planned lines are completed. The planned length is 7.98 km, with 8 stations, and some segments will be elevated.
According to the department's vice commissioner, Chen Wenrui, light rail construction costs NT$
Although it's great that the outer reaches of the Taipei Basin are also slated to get rail, and I think for the most part this plan makes sense seeing as it uses probably the only road wide enough in the area to build a rail line, I do wonder about the southernmost section of the line (leftmost in the above map), where instead taking the shortest route to link with the Airport Line at stop A4 (Xinzhuang Fuduxin), the Wugu-Taishan Line swerves south to parallel it, only joining it at stop A5a (Furen University Hospital). Meeting the Airport Line farther to the west means that anyone from Wugu headed towards Taipei Main is going to have a longer trip, possibly as much as 10 minutes longer judging from the map. Furthermore, this stretch is already close enough to the Airport Line that it needlessly duplicates it, and residents of that area bound for Wugu or Luzhou could simply transfer at Xinzhuang Fuduxin without taking significantly more time. If it did turn out that there is a need for a rail line along that route, a second line could be built that instead of joining the Wugu-Taishan Line would intersect it at station W5, then continue east and meet the Circular Line at Y19A. This would provide the same coverage as the current plan but with better connections.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)