Lai kicks off islandwide campaign tour, touts transport plans

Taipei, Dec. 21 (CNA) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential nominee Lai Ching-te (賴清德) promised to expedite transportation construction in the east of Taiwan on Thursday as he kicked off a new round of campaigning events around the island.

The DPP candidate and incumbent vice president told supporters at a rally in Jiaoxi Township in Yilan County -- the first stop of a four-day islandwide tour -- that he would push for the expansion of the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) system to the county.

It will provide "high-speed, safe, and comfortable transportation services" to the residents in Yilan, he said.

The Railway Bureau began planning for a THSR extension to Yilan in 2019. The plan has passed the first round of an environmental impact assessment and is currently undergoing the second and more vigorous assessment.

According to Lai, the proposed extension, set to cost an estimated NT$188 billion (US$6 billion), will see the construction of a railway line of about 60 kilometers connecting Nangang HSR Station in Taipei to a new station in Yilan.

The planned railway line, which will pass through Pingxi and Pinglin districts in New Taipei and Toucheng and Jiaoxi townships in Yilan, will not make an impact on the Feitsui Reservoir in New Taipei and its catchment area, Lai said.

Lai also promised to speed up plans to upgrade the highway and railway networks in the northeast and east of Taiwan as he traveled further east to Hualien and Taitung counties.

They include those seeking to expand Provincial Highway 62 from New Taipei to Yilan -- a plan that has yet to be finalized by authorities -- as well as those aiming to improve Suhua Highway and its linkage with National Freeway No. 5.

While rallying in Taitung City, Lai promised to expedite the project to add a second track to the railway line connecting Hualien and Taitung counties, the construction of which began in 2021.

According to the Railway Bureau's plan, the project is expected to be completed by 2027.

The partial renovations of Lanyu Airport on the country's outlying Orchid Island and Fugang Pier in Taitung County should also be sped up to smooth the flow of people and goods between Orchid Island and Taiwan proper, Lai said.