The Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) line, running north ∼ south, is located at the western corridor of the island with a total length of 345 km., out of which 252 km. are continuous viaducts or bridges. This type of structure was chosen to eliminate on grade crossing for trains travelling at speed of 300 km/hr., this will also allow better land usage on either side of the line. Taiwan is a major earthquake zone, the imperative challenge for the planning and design of this world’s longest HSR viaducts is to provide controlled dynamic responses to the structure for operational safety and passenger comfort. To achieve this goal, dynamic interactions between the running high speed trains and the viaducts need to be studied comprehensively and in details. The result is a specification very different from traditional railway viaduct. SINOTECH Engineering Consultant, Ltd. was involved with this HSR project in various stages including planning for part of the alignment during project development by government agencies, and also basic and detail design of viaducts for the BOT concessionaire THSRC. In this paper an introduction is given on how the major contents of viaduct specific design specification of UIC, Eurocode, Japanese code and Taiwan local code have been combined. How Sinotech approached this challenge, the design method chosen, and a summary of bridge design related to seismic safety and passenger comfort are also described herewith. Finally, the experience gained from Taiwan HSR and suggestions for future HSR design and construction are summarized for the reference of similar projects in the future.

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