By KHT Staff. AI illustration image.
KAOHSIUNG — A planned direct passage linking the High Speed Rail’s Zuoying Station (高鐵左營站) with Kaohsiung Metro’s Zuoying Station (捷運左營站) has been delayed, with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. saying construction could affect train operations and future service expansion, United Daily News reported.
The project aimed to facilitate transfers between HSR and the Kaohsiung Metro. Passengers currently have to travel from the HSR platform level to the second-floor concourse, exit the station, then use escalators to reach the MRT station underground. The transfer can take nearly 10 minutes.
The Legislature’s Transportation Committee inspected the site in June last year and urged faster progress. Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) later said the Railway Bureau (鐵道局) would help coordinate the interface between THSR and the metro system, with construction originally expected to begin as early as March this year.
However, the project has not yet moved forward.
Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) criticized the delay, saying the connector would improve transfers, support concert and event-related traffic, and strengthen crowd evacuation in emergencies.
The High Speed Rail Company said the project has completed civil engineering, operations, and maintenance assessments, as well as basic design. However, it could affect core electromechanical systems, and contractors had shown little willingness to take on the work after assessing the risks.
HSR said the passage would still be built if train dispatching and operations are not affected.
