Ministry defends Yilan HSR extension planStaff writer, with CNAThe Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday defended its plan to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) network to Yilan County, issuing a statement that said the project has clear benefits and would continue to be advanced in line with legal procedures. Chang criticized the plan on Sunday, saying that Yilan is only 40km to 50km from Taipei by conventional rail and questioning the need to spend about NT$400 billion (US$12.63 billion) on an HSR extension. Hochen has advocated a Taiwan Railway (TR) "direct rail" project to Yilan since the HSR project was first proposed, citing concerns over cost effectiveness and potential negative impacts on existing rail services. The bureau yesterday said both the HSR and TR direct rail options were thoroughly evaluated before the HSR plan was selected and submitted for Cabinet review. A TR direct rail alternative, calculated using the same assumptions, would cost about NT$220 billion, the bureau said.
