The third public hearing on the comprehensive planning of the Keelung MRT project was held at the Xizhi District Office in New Taipei City this afternoon. Yang Zhengjun, deputy director of the Railway Bureau, led a team to explain in person.

(Photo by reporter Yu Zhaofu)

[Reporter Yu Zhaofu/New Taipei Report] The third public hearing on the comprehensive planning of the Keelung MRT project was held at the Xizhi District Office in New Taipei City this afternoon.

Regarding Keelung City’s financial difficulties and its inability to bear the apportionment of funds, the public is worried about delays in the progress of the Keelung MRT. New Taipei City Councilor Bai Peiru suggested that the Xidong Line of the MRT and the Keelung MRT should be decoupled; Yang Zhengjun, deputy director of the Railway Bureau, said that the decoupling was originally planned In progress, the Xidong Line will enter the construction stage, and the comprehensive planning of the Keelung MRT is coming to an end, and the implementation stage is "soon".

From the 26th to the 28th, the Bureau of Railways held a public hearing on the comprehensive planning of the Jijie Project in Keelung, Taipei Nangang, and New Taipei Xizhi respectively. The New Taipei City public hearing was held at the Xizhi District Office of New Taipei City this afternoon.

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According to the briefing of the Railway Bureau, the first stage of Jijie starts from Baduping Station to the south, climbs all the way to the Xizhi Nanyang Bridge in an elevated way, and then goes underground to Nangang. The total length is about 15.59 kilometers. There are 5 stations in Keelung and Xinbei. 6 stations, 2 stations in Taipei, a total of 13 stations.

According to the route map published by the Ministry of Communications, the 13 stations of the first phase of the Keelung MRT, from Keelung to Taipei, are Badu Station, Qidu Station, Liudu Station, Baifu Station, Beiwudu Station, and Baochangkeng Station ( 1), Baochangkeng Station (2), Xizhi District Office Station, Xike Station, Zhangshuwan Station, Nanyang Bridge Station, Nangang Exhibition Hall Station, Nangang Station, with a total length of 16.05 kilometers and a construction cost of 42.5 billion yuan.

The Keelung City Government believes that the apportioned funds in Keelung have increased from 1.7 billion to 6.1 billion, and they hope to extend the payment period. The dispute over the apportionment of funds has not been resolved, and there are variables. Xizhi residents are worried that it will affect the progress of the Xidong Line of the MRT.

Legislator Lai Pinyu said that the coordination process between the central and local governments and how to apportion funds must be clarified. In addition, the issue of widening Xizhi's external roads in the future must be actively handled.

The Xidong Line not only solves Xizhi’s traffic, but how to develop the whole place, the central government and the local government must communicate more fully and build consensus.

Councilor Bai Peiru said that the Xidong line and the Keelung MRT should be decoupled. The progress of the two is different. The Xidong line should be carried out first. If there is any need for the Keelung MRT, it can be left behind. However, Xizhi's traffic needs to be resolved first and cannot wait.

A mile chief reported that the train at Xiko Station seems to have to run 100 meters when it arrives. I hope that the MRT entrances and exits will be well planned in the future, and it will not be like Xiko Station.

Wang Chengyi, a former representative of Xizhi City, said that the name of Baochangkeng Station 2 is inappropriate and should be corrected.

Yang Zhengjun said that the Keelung MRT involves the integration between the north and the north, and the comprehensive planning is coming to an end, and the environmental impact assessment has been passed. It will be soon, "the ball is about to be thrown at the last step"; and the Xidong line has entered the design after approval, and will soon enter the engineering stage.

However, the Xizhi District Office and Xike Station of the two plans are on the same line, and the Xidong Line can be completed first.

As for the name of the Baochangkeng 2 station, Yang Zhengjun said that this is not the final version, and the opinions of the public will be conveyed to the New Taipei City Government.

New Taipei City Councilor Bai Peiru suggested that the MRT Xidong Line and the Keelung MRT should be decoupled; Yang Zhengjun, deputy director of the Railway Bureau, said that the Xidong Line will enter the construction stage after decoupling.

(Photo by reporter Yu Zhaofu)

Lai Pinyu, a local legislator in Qixing District, New Taipei City, questioned the Railway Bureau on public concerns at the public hearing on the comprehensive planning of the Keelung MRT project today, and did not explain enough about the Keelung MRT that the public is concerned about.

(Photo by reporter Yu Zhaofu)

The third public hearing on the comprehensive planning of the Keelung MRT project was held at the Xizhi District Office of New Taipei City this afternoon. New Taipei City Councilor Liao Hsien-hsiang also attended the meeting to speak for the villagers.

(Photo by reporter Yu Zhaofu)

The third public hearing on the comprehensive planning of the Keelung MRT project was held at the Xizhi District Office in New Taipei City this afternoon. Yang Zhengjun, deputy director of the Railway Bureau, led a team to explain in person.

(Photo by reporter Yu Zhaofu)

The third public hearing on the comprehensive planning of the Keelung MRT project was held this afternoon at the Xizhi District Office in New Taipei City, attracting civil servants, district chiefs, residents and students to raise questions on related issues.

(Photo by reporter Yu Zhaofu)