Railway Construction

In view of the massive cost of railway construction and operation, MOTC assigned the Railway Bureau as supporting agency to review the "Guidelines for Application and Review of Plans for Mass Rapid Transit System Construction Projects & Development of Surrounding Land" and "Guidelines for Application and Review of Plans for Railway Level Crossing and Environmental Improvement Construction & Development of Surrounding Land".

The key points of the revisions of the MRT evaluation guidelines include the following: (1) implementing integrated network planning (2) selecting the system under full lifecycle perspective (3) designing appropriate transfer routes (4) proposing and executing cultivation measures on ridership (5) integrating transit oriented development (TOD) planning. The points are meant to guide local governments to be more comprehensive during planning and evaluating the projects.

In addition to the feasibility study that is implemented by the local government, all processes including planning, design, construction and operation of railway grade separation construction are executed by the central government. Thus, the evaluation key points focused on: (1) necessity review of grade separation of the railways (2) solid assessments on alternative plans (3) comprehensive connection of adjacent transportation systems and (4) reduction of impact toward railway operation in order to make the project reasonable and feasible and allow national investment to be the most effective.

The Railway Bureau will inherit many years of planning, design and construction experience and make an all-out effort to continuously improve the national railway construction.