High Speed Hijinks
The first high-speed test of the Taiwan High Speed Rail 高速鐵路即將通車 'bullet train' made headlines today, in an attempt to counter bad press last month from a 1 year delay, near-bankruptcy, and government infusion of NT$7.5 billion (US$230 million).
A quick comparison of the different transportation methods to Kaohsiung shows storm clouds ahead for the already shaky service, first approved by KMT saboteur and Japanophile 李登輝, Lee Tung-Hui during better economic times.
Airplane: NT$2000 for a 60 minute ride
Expected THSR fare: NT$1200 for a 81 minute ride
Current local train fare: NT$800 for a 4 hour ride
Such a small country doesn't need an expensive, imported rail system that sucks further dollars out of Taiwan. The rail system is incompatible with current rail lines, and is completely separate from the current infrastructure. The entire project has been designed and built in Japan, then transferred to Taiwan where Japanese and European engineerrs and suppliers squabble over implementation. All this contributes nothing to local economies or Taiwan. The DPP is holding out the carrot of future growth, while spending money that would probably be put to better used if directly infused into the economy. However, Taiwan Shinkansen chairwoman 殷琪 Nita Ing has long been a devoted supporter of ROC President 陳水扁Chen Shui-Bian, so we can take all heart at the knowledge that there must be some other form of contribution coming back to Taiwan.
Last month's bailout, which used a loophole to circumvent a standing legislative resolution against investing further funds, was inexplicably financed by the Aviation Development Fund, the owner of China Airlines, Taiwan's national carrier. The DPP was so desperate to keep the pet project going, it essentially got the national airline to finance its own competitor. No conflict of interest there at all, really. And let's not forget that the capital city of Taipei STILL doesn't have anything other than a bus link to the national airport.
Wandering to Tamshui has information on corruption in the project. There is some discussion on Japundit, where pro-DPP blogger Michael Turton has gone so far as to claim that most of Taiwan wishes it were Japan.
A quick comparison of the different transportation methods to Kaohsiung shows storm clouds ahead for the already shaky service, first approved by KMT saboteur and Japanophile 李登輝, Lee Tung-Hui during better economic times.
Airplane: NT$2000 for a 60 minute ride
Expected THSR fare: NT$1200 for a 81 minute ride
Current local train fare: NT$800 for a 4 hour ride
Such a small country doesn't need an expensive, imported rail system that sucks further dollars out of Taiwan. The rail system is incompatible with current rail lines, and is completely separate from the current infrastructure. The entire project has been designed and built in Japan, then transferred to Taiwan where Japanese and European engineerrs and suppliers squabble over implementation. All this contributes nothing to local economies or Taiwan. The DPP is holding out the carrot of future growth, while spending money that would probably be put to better used if directly infused into the economy. However, Taiwan Shinkansen chairwoman 殷琪 Nita Ing has long been a devoted supporter of ROC President 陳水扁Chen Shui-Bian, so we can take all heart at the knowledge that there must be some other form of contribution coming back to Taiwan.
Last month's bailout, which used a loophole to circumvent a standing legislative resolution against investing further funds, was inexplicably financed by the Aviation Development Fund, the owner of China Airlines, Taiwan's national carrier. The DPP was so desperate to keep the pet project going, it essentially got the national airline to finance its own competitor. No conflict of interest there at all, really. And let's not forget that the capital city of Taipei STILL doesn't have anything other than a bus link to the national airport.
Wandering to Tamshui has information on corruption in the project. There is some discussion on Japundit, where pro-DPP blogger Michael Turton has gone so far as to claim that most of Taiwan wishes it were Japan.
posted by Taiwan's Other Side at 11:28 PM
3 Comments:
NT$ 800 cheaper than a plane ticket and only 21 minutes more wait.
NT$ 400 more than a bus ticket and about 2 1/2 hours faster.
I'd suggest there is a market for such a thing.
Then again, I fly EVA economy deluxe.
The rail system is incompatible with current rail lines, and is completely separate from the current infrastructure.
This is not true of the system in Taipei. I do agree that it may be a problem in some places where they have built the stations away from the existing activity centres. How successful it is depends on establishing appropriate infrastructure around the new stations.
I also think you have ignored one of the greatest possible benefits that the HSR might bring. That is Songshan airport could be closed. I know some people probably disagree with this, but there is absolutely no need to have an airport in the middle of the city or regular flights to Kaohsiung, Tainan or Taichung.
Redeveloping the Songshan airport would benefit the residents of Taipei enormously. Ideally its redevelopment would be primarily for public benefit with parks, sporting facilities or universities and schools.
High Speed Trains are the right way forward. It is one of he best infrastructure investments a country can make. China just bought such a system from a French company, Ahlstom that was a competitor of the Japanese for the Taiwan system. France, Germany and Japan are the three world leaders in this field. It is therefore not surprising that a Japanese supplier was chosen. The value for Taiwan of the high-speed system is not the manufacturing of the trains but what it will do for the Taiwan economy by reducing travel time and increasing accessibility. France has had high-speed trains for decades that compete with airlines. The experience is that the traffic volume by air and by train grows even if the travel time between two cities is the same. It is not a zero sum game of either a person goes by air or by rail. The volume for both will increase. Facilitating transport that is not based on cars or trucks has many advantages from the point of view of pollution and noise. A train has the merit of stopping at much shorter intervals than aircraft, and generates less noise and pollution. Airports are expensive to build and create a large amount of noise. They have also to be far removed from cities so people can sleep quietly. That of course increases travel time between city centres. The number of people that fly and take the train instead of a car at the airport increases dramatically with the availability of a high-speed train service.
Unfortunately practically all high-speed train projects have turned out to require higher investments and take longer to install than planned. The cost overruns and delays in the Taiwan project are very modest as compared by for example a smaller high-speed system that is at present being installed in the Netherlands.
High Speed trains when the stations are integrated with office facilities allow the decentralisation of activities outside the main cities. That is an important advantage. I can understand the irritation with an overrun but the alternative of cancelling the project would be very detrimental for the prosperity of the people of Taiwan.
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