Taiwan’s Executive Yuan has approved a 60.6 km extension of the island’s standard-gauge high-speed rail from Nangang station east of Taipei to Yilan on the northeast coast. The project includes constructing a new station near Yilan County Hall and a depot with maintenance facilities southeast of the new terminus in Yilan.
The Railway Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation & Communications estimates the total cost for the extension excluding depot and rolling stock at NT$222 billion (€5.95 billion). When including the depot and rolling stock, the total rises to NT$352.2 billion (€9.44 billion). The evaluation of the project has been
ongoing since 2019, with an estimated completion date set for 2037. The primary goal is to relieve capacity issues on the existing conventional 1,067 mm gauge rail line between Shulin, southwest of Taipei, and Qidu, south of Keelung, which currently operates at full capacity.
Elevated Railway Rebuild through Central Yilan
The existing 15.6 km conventional railway section through central Yilan will be rebuilt on an elevated alignment to reduce conflicts with surface traffic. This separate project will involve reconstructing four stations along with building a new interchange connecting to the new high-speed rail line.
Broader Railway Network Strategy and Related Projects
The Yilan high-speed rail extension forms part of Taiwan’s national strategy to
develop a high-efficiency round-island rail network and promote balanced economic growth along the east coast relative to the west. Concurrently, upgrades are underway on the conventional 1,067 mm gauge line between Hualien and Taitung, including double-tracking. Improvements are also taking place on the South Link line between Fangliao and Taitung, focusing on double-tracking bottleneck segments to increase capacity.
At the southern end of the high-speed rail network, a 25.9 km extension from Zuoying to Kaohsiung main station and eastward to Pingtung was approved in December 2020, complementing the northern expansion to Yilan.
