Tainan to begin removing 17 railway crossings

台南將開始拆除17處鐵路平交道

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Tainan will begin removing railway crossings and related structures on Sunday, a day after the city's underground railway service is scheduled to begin.

Authorities will work to reconnect roads and develop greenways along a former 8.23-kilometer railway corridor. The project involves 17 rail crossing facilities, including eight street-level crossings, three vehicular overpasses, four underpasses, and two railway bridges or culverts, Tainan City government said Wednesday, per CNA.

Tainan's Bureau of Transportation said street-level crossings would be prioritized because their removal mainly involves dismantling tracks and leveling road surfaces. Removal of the Kaiyuan Road crossing will begin on Sunday and will include road paving and new traffic markings.

Work on the Dongfeng Road level crossing is expected to begin after Nov. 17. Construction will take place in three phases, with partial road closures and adjustments to traffic space intended to maintain vehicle access, per a press release.

Other demolition work includes a steel bridge on Changrong Road, Dongmen overpass, and Fulian underpass. The city said work would proceed after traffic-control plans receive the necessary approvals and would be coordinated with a broader greenway project.

The first phase of the underground railway project is scheduled to begin service on Saturday, moving trains below ground through central Tainan. The project is intended to improve connections between neighborhoods on either side of the tracks.