Transport infrastructure is one of the most important factors for a country's progress. Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) as a Critical Infrastructure (CI) operates in the western part of Taiwan where 90% of Taiwanese population lives. With a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) approach, Taiwan High Speed Railway (THSR) is a high technology project and as such aims to make the best possible practices of new technology at all levels. This paper describes the research and development for the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) and related technologies to enhance the management capacity of THSRC. GIS provides the framework within which relevant project information can be captured, stored, manipulated, analyzed and retrieved, including topographic base maps, survey data and cadastral data related to the right of way, construction design and as-built drawings, geological and environmental data, aerial and satellite imagery and many other forms of data which have a geographic or spatial component. The resulting data model of the railway and its environment forms a valuable asset for the THSRC in the form of accessible project records to be continuously enhanced and referenced throughout the railway’s life cycle including construction, and also sustainable operations and maintenance phases.

THSRC has combined a variety of information and communication technologies, to develop a comprehensive GIS platform to enhance its management capability. In construction phase, GIS assists in this effort by capturing relevant construction related data and converting it to information through its data modeling, storage, analysis and visualization abilities as the foundation for asset management in THSRC. With the latest state of the art GIS technologies, THSRC has achieved to compile all civil structures, track components, structures and alignment geometries, safety geospatial information, engineering and topographic information into the corporate spatial database.  In operations and maintenance phases, THSRC has also developed additional geospatial functions to improve real-time information retrieval and decision-making support by integrating on-board GPS, mobile devices to provide location-based services, etc. This platform not only helps the monitoring of real-time train operation but also identifies the environmental danger along the high speed line. The system uses Microsoft ASP.NET and Google Earth/Map API as development tools to integrate the locations and features of THSRC facilities including stations, depots, train operation status, Disaster Warning System (DWS) including the instant information of weather, rivers flood levels, landslides, earthquakes and intrusion sensors. In addition, network agent technology is integrated to retrieve useful information regularly from Open Government Data, including rainfalls and flood levels by Central Weather Bureau (CWB) and Water Resources Agency (WRA) to compare with the THSRC DWS database.

The real-time train location information and location-based service are provided to both front-line staff and management level via smart phones and tablets to provide more accurate, real-time and customized made information for passenger evacuation, navigation, and decision-making. Therefore, with the application of GIS and communication technologies, it is aimed to enhance its overall management capabilities in operations and emergency management of THSRC, and thereby ensuring better safety to its passengers and ultimately improving customer satisfaction.