SARS and Seismic Issues Did Not Derail Taiwan's Express Line
Engineering aftershocks of the 1999 "Chi-Chi" earthquake that devastated central Taiwan first hindered progress. Then, as resulting seismic design uncertainties were being resolved last year, the disease SARS afflicted the island, spurring a mass exodus of migrant labor.
Dave Herron, project manager of a consortium responsible for 37 kilometers of the high-speed line near Taichung, says that his team is now finishing up, having recently ended work ahead of schedule. Other joint ventures along the route are also completing the nearly 350-km of infrastructure. With civil work now ending, "progress has been tremendous," says Nita Ing, chairwoman and chief executive officer of the Taiwan High-Speed Railway Corp. As mechanized track installation gains momentum. equipping and commissioning railroad systems this year and next remain "a very big challenge," she adds.