Taiwan Airport Expansion To Include Rail Service

<B> Taiwan Airport Expansion To Include Rail Service</B>

By Robert Selwitz

Airport expansion is an ongoing event at Taiwan's 19 year-old Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport, where work is progressing toward increasing annual capacity to 17 million passengers.

The $700 million project--expected to be completed by December 1999--will include a new passenger terminal and a parking garage with capacity for nearly 3,000 vehicles.

For the adventurous, or those seeking a travel alternative to the often intense road congestion, there is also Taipei's new Mass Rapid Transit light rail lines. One MRT route covers 10.5 kilometers (approximately 6.5 miles) between downtown Taipei and the Taipei Zoo in the southern suburb of Mucha. Or, try the year-old Tamsui Line which links Taipei with Tamsui on the north coast. The 22.8-kilometer line (14.25-mile) includes stops near the Grand Hotel and the world famous Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

Four more MRT lines are expected to be in operation by mid-2001, including a 40-kilometer (25-mile) light rail system linking the airport with downtown Taipei.