This slideshow gives an overview of the Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) High Speed Rail project, which links Taipei to Kaohsiung. Travel between the two cities at a distance of 345 km, would take 5-10 hours by car (without considering traffic congestion) and 5-8 hours by traditional rail, but with the HSR, travel time is reduced to 90 minutes.
The project budget was US$16-17B, with 76% of cost for construction of elevated rail portion. The train serves 190,000 passengers per day.
The document discusses the importance of government involvement to make this type of megaproject possible: create institutional framework, encouraged private sector investment through law/regulation, local government urban planning and land development guidelines.