A long-delayed light rail project in Taiwan's Chiayi City is stuck in a public fight between the central transport ministry and the city government, with residents the losers.

• The transport minister says the central government is ready and the city just needs to finish its paperwork on cost-sharing and coordination with the neighboring county.
• The city fires back that Taipei is stalling, pointing to a 2005 cabinet promise to build the line once passenger numbers hit a target.
• Ridership at the two high-speed rail stations has now passed 14 million, and the city says every other high-speed rail station got centrally funded rail links except Chiayi.
• The city also accuses the government of backing away from a roughly NT$37 billion funding pledge made by the premier.
• Because the line would cross city and county lines and connect to TSMC facilities, the city argues only the central government can realistically coordinate it.

Outlook: The ministry has signaled it will wait three more months to see what the next mayor does, so the project likely stays frozen until after the local election.