I walked off the plane in Taoyuan Airport not knowing what to expect for the next six weeks in Taiwan. I had an idea of where I was staying, the research that I would work on and that the weather would make summer in Champaign Illinois feel like winter. I knew I should have done more trip planning and research. The time I should have used planning for Taiwan was spent preparing for my first conference presentations in Calgary Canada. Chen-Yu Lin (林陳佑) graciously picked me up from the airport and drove me to the NTU Hospital dorms. I must have spent the whole time starring at the viaducts and the viaducts under construction for the new MRT line to the airport and new highway. The next morning Chen-Yu stopped by and showed me food options nearby my dorm and introduced me to the Taipei MRT system. I bought a SMART card and was all set to conquer Taipei. The MRT would grow to be my primary form of transportation. I was able to travel from the NTU Hospital Campus to the main campus, as well as Taipei Main Station, Taipei 101, Makong Gandola, Shilin Night Market and many other fascinating locations. The MRT had easy transfers, next train arrival signs, continuously welded rail, and slab-track. At 23:30, the trains were still full with standing room only.
I took Professor Kao’s (高聰忠教授) Engineering course on High Speed Rail at the University of Illinois in spring of 2010. I bought my HSR ticket from a ticket vending machine in Taipei Main Station on my first free Saturday. The ticket was similar looking to a metro system than an airline. I deposited my ticket in a turn style as if I riding the Washington D.C. metro. Most intercity train tickets in the U.S. resemble airline tickets and are checked by hand before getting on the platform. I saw some of the Taiwan countryside from the train when I could. The train was moving incredibly fast and passing one fantastic tunnel after another. I disembarked at Hsinchu Station saw the famous glass & steel roof. The station was gorgeous, but even more impressive was the amount of new construction buildings in the station area. I would later get the opportunity to visit Taichung Station & Depot. There, I was shown the train washing machine, the daily inspection facility, and walked a portion of the spur line connecting the depot to the mainline. High Speed Rail track is designed to a very different standard than the track for the freight trains in the United States that results in a stiffer track structure. All of the High Speed Rail facilities were impressive, clean, and very convenient. I’m eagerly waiting for when the United States can adopt the technology and expertise of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Experience.
National Taiwan University is at the forefront of railroad capacity analysis. I had the privilege of working along aside Professor Lai (賴勇成教授). I initially worked on adding additional assumption to his optimization model that selects railroad projects that increase capacity. This stochastic model can make decisions with regard to traffic demand, delays to trains, maintenance costs, traffic flows, and construction costs. While working on this model, Professor Lai and I were able to develop a new optimization model to further assist railroad capacity planning. The model develop analyzes traffic demand over time and builds an incremental upgrade schedule to the railroad network to match capacity to demand. This type of analysis will be useful for existing corridors that expect rail traffic to grow overtime such as the TRA line to Hualien and Amtrak service in the states of Illinois, North Carolina, & Washington.
I had the opportunity to escape urban Taiwan to the countryside on three separate occasions. I visited Yilan with the other NTU railroad students. We started in Taipei and passed through the Hsuehsahn Tunnel to Yilan. This tunnel was the longest tunnel that I have ever been in! In Yilan, we visited a TRA maintenance depot, the Lanyang Museum, and the Yilan Coast Line where the mountains meet the ocean. Later in my stay, I went to Kenting and went snorkeling in the coral reefs. I thought I entered a scene from the Pixar movie Finding Nemo, with all the different colors of coral and different types of fish. My last trip was hiking in Taroko Gorge. This river gorge was breathtaking as walls of rock arise from the river to meet tree covered mountains. I took enough pictures there to drain a full battery on my camera.
I had a wonderful time in Taipei. I was sad to see my visit come to end and leave new friends. I am exciting to continue the collaboration between NTU and the University of Illinois. I hope to return to Taiwan in the future!
|
