Staff writer, with CNAThe estimated NT$55.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) cost of extending the high-speed rail from its southern terminus in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County is affordable, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told members of the legislature’s Finance Committee on Monday. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has estimated that building the 17.5km extension — from Zuoying Station, the current terminus on the high-speed rail line, to Lioukuaicuo Station, one stop west of Pingtung Station on the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) Pingtung line — would cost at least NT$55.4 billion, not including the cost of purchasing rolling stock. The allocation would only be 1.07 percent of the NT$467 billion budgeted next year for public infrastructure projects, he added. “This shows that the southbound extension project falls within an affordable range,” Chu said. “The southbound extension is part of comprehensive homeland planning and helps balance regional development.”

Source: Taipei Times October 08, 2019 15:56 UTC