Taiwan's North Link Railway, due for completion in 1979, is currently undergoing speedy construction. Officials hope to make up for lost time and complete the line on schedule. The North Link Railway is one of the ten major construction projects being built by the Republic of China government. It will bridge the northern gap between the west coast mainline and the east line, which is now blocked by the rugged Central Mountain Range. The present traffic movement between Suao and Hualien is a narrow highway, the transportation volume of which is much limited. The construction work on the rail link started on December 25, 1973 both at Suao and Hualien. The government has ordered the sparing of no effort to carry out the project to promote progress and prosperity in Eastern Taiwan.
When the construction work is completed, the North Link Railway will be 82.3 km. long with a branch line of 5.8 km. to Hualien harbor. The land acquisition for the route was about 473 hectares (1183 acres). Thirteen rail stations are to be installed. The earth work will total 3,000,000 cu.m. and track laying 117 km. Along the line, there will be 22 major bridges and 74 minor bridges. The longest bridge is 1,380 m. The total length of culverts is 3,250 m. There will be 15 tunnels with a total length of 31.137 km. The longest is 7,757m.
The tunnel construction, which occupies more than one third of the entire route line and accounts for 65 percent of the whole budget, is the most important work. At present, 7 short tunnels have been completed and 8 long tunnels are under way. The most modern machinery imported from the U.S., Japan and Sweden is employed for excavation. The benefits from the North Link Railway are multiple: to exploit resources of Eastern Taiwan, to promote industrial and commercial development, to increase employment, to improve the railroad transportation on the east line to fully utilize the Hualien harbor, to promote tourism and to strengthen the national defenses on the east side of the island. The total cost will be about NT$5.2 billion (US$130,000,000). When the work is completed, Eastern Taiwan will present a new look, culturally, socially, industrially and commercially.
Tunnel adjacent to a bridge
Drilling rock with "boomer 131"
Piers of Hoping Hsi bridge
Construction of Sanchan Hsi bridge
View of part of the Yungchun tunnel
Consecutive tunnels near Suao
Bird's eye view of construction site of Tungao
Front view of "Big John" excavator
Inauguration of opening of southern section to traffic
Precasting yard for concrete segments at Yungchun
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