Monday, September 30, 2013
Taoyuan Announces Taoyuan-Xinzhuang Line Alternatives
Last week the Taoyuan County government released two alternatives for a rapid transit line between Taoyuan Train Station and Huilong MRT Station, slated to be the Taoyuan MRT's Brown Line. The first alternative would be what the linked article calls light rail, and would run underground in Taoyuan City and elevated for the rest of its length. (I was under the impression, however, that in Taiwan a rail line had to run on the surface for at least a quarter of its length to count as light rail.) It would be 11.5km long, and cost NT$23.5 billion, or NT$2 billion/km (US$67 million/km). Its depreciation rate, or the portion of construction costs that would be paid through operating profits, would be just over 30%. The second alternative is a monorail line, which would be elevated for its full length and cost NT$16.4 billion, or NT$1.4 billion (US$47 million/km). The lower cost would bring a higher depreciation rate, of 40%. Presumably this is largely because the whole route would be elevated, which would be more acceptable with monorail since they can use sleeker support structures.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Feasibility Study for the Hengchun Branch Line
A little while ago I wrote about a Ministry of Transportation proposal to build a rail line from Kaohsiung to Hengchun. According to the Central News Agency, the ministry has now has allotted NT$8 million (US$270,000) for a feasibility study which will determine if the line will be worth building. The study will begin next year, and, if everything goes smoothly, construction could begin in 2017 and finish by 2023. The line is expected to cost as least NT$30 billion (just over US$1 billion), and would be 38 kilometers long. This comes out to NT$789 million/km (US$26 million/km).
A trip from New Zuoying to Hengchun on the line would take 90 minutes. Currently seven million people make the trip to Kending every year.
A trip from New Zuoying to Hengchun on the line would take 90 minutes. Currently seven million people make the trip to Kending every year.
Squeezing Yet More Trains onto the Bannan Line
The United Daily recently had an interesting report about how the MRT has saved time during rush hour on the Bannan Line. Every weekday between 8 and 9 AM the MRT has stationed workers on the Bannan Line platforms at Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Taipei Main whose sole task is closing each train's doors. This might sound wasteful, but the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. claims it has allowed them to run two more trains during rush hour, permitting 29 trains per hour which can fit 3,000 more people, and reducing headways by fifteen seconds, to 2 minutes and 5 seconds.
Typically, after an MRT train stops, the driver steps out of the cab and only reenters once they see everyone has boarded the train. According to Tan Gwa Gwang, president of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp., the TRTC determined that this takes 5 seconds. To save this time, the TRTC stationed staff near the driver's cab to watch the monitors showing passengers boarding and exiting the train, so the driver doesn't need to leave the cab. When the warning alarm sounds, they reach into the cab and place their finger on the door closing button. Once the alarm stops and there are no more passengers entering or exiting the train, they press the button and motion to the driver to leave the station.
Last year the TRTC had already saved 10 seconds per train by adding crowd control staff to Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Taipei Main's platforms.
Typically, after an MRT train stops, the driver steps out of the cab and only reenters once they see everyone has boarded the train. According to Tan Gwa Gwang, president of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp., the TRTC determined that this takes 5 seconds. To save this time, the TRTC stationed staff near the driver's cab to watch the monitors showing passengers boarding and exiting the train, so the driver doesn't need to leave the cab. When the warning alarm sounds, they reach into the cab and place their finger on the door closing button. Once the alarm stops and there are no more passengers entering or exiting the train, they press the button and motion to the driver to leave the station.
Last year the TRTC had already saved 10 seconds per train by adding crowd control staff to Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Taipei Main's platforms.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Setback for the Dansui-Taipei Freeway
Last week a Taipei court rejected the Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed freeway linking Danshui to Guandu. Specifically the court found that the committee that issued the EIA failed to determine whether construction would damage the Mangrove Forest Conservation Area, and that the committee lacked sufficient information to make a ruling. Eric Chu, the mayor of New Taipei, was unfazed, and promised to continue construction "because the EIA approval is still valid."
This freeway, planned to be 4.7 km long and cost NT$4.6 billion (for a cost of NT$978 million/US$33 million per km) has been controversial from the beginning, in part because of concerns about its impact on the mangroves, and also because residents in Guandu worry that it will cause more traffic. There are in fact a lot of good reasons to doubt whether this project is beneficial. For one thing, new freeways tend to draw passengers away from mass transit and encourage new development, which in turn means they fill up with new congestion rather than eliminate it. Furthermore, New Taipei is already planning on building the Danjiang Bridge between Danshui and Bali, which should absorb some of the traffic that currently passes between Danshui and Guandu. Rather than build both, perhaps the government should consider if only one would be sufficient to reduce traffic (I would favor the Danjiang Bridge since at least it offers a new route and would include a light rail line).
Then there's mass transit. This corridor is uniquely well-suited to mass transit because all traffic from Danshui and Sanzhi to Taipei is funneled through one narrow area. This means it's easy for it to become congested, while cars' ability to take passengers point-to-point less relevant because everyone is following the same route anyway. Furthermore, there is already an underused mass transit line following this corridor: the MRT's Danshui Line. Doubling the number of the trains on the line, thereby cutting waiting times in half, would presumably attract some of the traffic from the current road. Doing so would be far less environmentally damaging than building a new freeway, and possibly cheaper as well- even if Danshui station needed to be expanded to turn trains (and I don't think it would- Nanshijiao and Nangang Exhibition Hall seem to do fine with just two tracks), the impact should be much lower than building a freeway. Even if that wasn't an option, the city is already planning two light rail lines in Danshui that will funnel people coming from farther out to the MRT, making mass transit a more convenient alternative to driving. The city could also consider more frequent bus feeder lines connecting to MRT stations, or even expand parking lots at MRT stations to encourage people to at least not drive down the Danshui-Guandu road.
The fact that congestion on this corridor is a problem also reveals how problematic the Danhai New Town development is. Encouraging more people to move to Danshui will simply further increase traffic along the only road leading to Taipei, as well as create more sprawl. It would make much more sense to focus development in areas that are linked to Taipei by more than a single road.
Simply put, there are many alternatives to building a freeway between Danshui and Taipei that would have less impact on the environment. In general, building more roads will just attract more drivers, not "solve" traffic- especially if Danshui continues to attract new residents. Rather than create sprawl by encouraging people to move to distant parts of the Taipei metropolitan region, and then build driving-enducing, environmentally damaging freeways to serve those people, the government would be better off providing better mass transit to places where people currently live. With more mass transit there would be less need for parking and wide roads, and more space for parks and sidewalks.
This freeway, planned to be 4.7 km long and cost NT$4.6 billion (for a cost of NT$978 million/US$33 million per km) has been controversial from the beginning, in part because of concerns about its impact on the mangroves, and also because residents in Guandu worry that it will cause more traffic. There are in fact a lot of good reasons to doubt whether this project is beneficial. For one thing, new freeways tend to draw passengers away from mass transit and encourage new development, which in turn means they fill up with new congestion rather than eliminate it. Furthermore, New Taipei is already planning on building the Danjiang Bridge between Danshui and Bali, which should absorb some of the traffic that currently passes between Danshui and Guandu. Rather than build both, perhaps the government should consider if only one would be sufficient to reduce traffic (I would favor the Danjiang Bridge since at least it offers a new route and would include a light rail line).
Then there's mass transit. This corridor is uniquely well-suited to mass transit because all traffic from Danshui and Sanzhi to Taipei is funneled through one narrow area. This means it's easy for it to become congested, while cars' ability to take passengers point-to-point less relevant because everyone is following the same route anyway. Furthermore, there is already an underused mass transit line following this corridor: the MRT's Danshui Line. Doubling the number of the trains on the line, thereby cutting waiting times in half, would presumably attract some of the traffic from the current road. Doing so would be far less environmentally damaging than building a new freeway, and possibly cheaper as well- even if Danshui station needed to be expanded to turn trains (and I don't think it would- Nanshijiao and Nangang Exhibition Hall seem to do fine with just two tracks), the impact should be much lower than building a freeway. Even if that wasn't an option, the city is already planning two light rail lines in Danshui that will funnel people coming from farther out to the MRT, making mass transit a more convenient alternative to driving. The city could also consider more frequent bus feeder lines connecting to MRT stations, or even expand parking lots at MRT stations to encourage people to at least not drive down the Danshui-Guandu road.
The fact that congestion on this corridor is a problem also reveals how problematic the Danhai New Town development is. Encouraging more people to move to Danshui will simply further increase traffic along the only road leading to Taipei, as well as create more sprawl. It would make much more sense to focus development in areas that are linked to Taipei by more than a single road.
Simply put, there are many alternatives to building a freeway between Danshui and Taipei that would have less impact on the environment. In general, building more roads will just attract more drivers, not "solve" traffic- especially if Danshui continues to attract new residents. Rather than create sprawl by encouraging people to move to distant parts of the Taipei metropolitan region, and then build driving-enducing, environmentally damaging freeways to serve those people, the government would be better off providing better mass transit to places where people currently live. With more mass transit there would be less need for parking and wide roads, and more space for parks and sidewalks.
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