Taiwan’s Executive Yuan has given the green light to a 60.6 km extension of the island’s standard-gauge high speed line, running from Nangang station east of Taipei to Yilan on the northeast coast.

The project includes a new station near Yilan County Hall, plus a depot and maintenance facility to be built southeast of the new terminus.

According to railwaygazette.com, the Railway Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation & Communications estimates the extension’s cost at NT$222bn (€5.95bn). That figure rises to NT$352.2bn (€9.44bn) once the depot and rolling stock are included.

The extension aims to relieve the 1 067 mm gauge conventional line between Shulin southwest of Taipei and Qidu south of Keelung, which is currently operating at full capacity.

Evaluation of the proposed extension has been underway since 2019. The Railway Bureau estimates the work could be completed by 2037.

In a separate project, a 15.6 km section of the existing railway through central Yilan will be rebuilt on an elevated alignment, reducing conflicts with surface traffic. This will require the reconstruction of four stations and the construction of a new interchange to the high speed line.

The Yilan extension is part of Taiwan’s strategy to create a high-efficiency round-island rail network, encouraging more balanced development of the east coast compared to the west.

Other projects include the ongoing double-tracking of the 1 067 mm gauge line between Hualien and Taitung, and improvements to the South Link between Fangliao and Taitung, including double-tracking of bottleneck sections.

At the southern end of the high speed line, a 25.9 km extension from the current terminus at Zuoying to Kaohsiung main station and then east to Pingtung was approved in December 2020.

This approval marks a significant step in Taiwan’s rail development, promising to enhance connectivity and support regional balance.