Taichung Metro

The Taichung Metro (also called Taichung Mass Rail Transit or Taichung MRT) is a rapid transit system under construction in Taichung, Taiwan. In addition to Taichung, it may serve Changhua and Nantou counties. Trial operations for first line of the system, the Green Line, ran from 16 to 21 November 2020.[1]

Taichung Metro
Trains at Beitun Depot
Overview
LocaleTaichung and Changhua
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of linesSuspended: 1 Planning: 3
Operation
Operator(s)Taichung Mass Rapid Transit System Co.
Technical
System length31.8 km (19.8 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Taichung Metro
Traditional Chinese臺中捷運
Taichung MRT
Traditional Chinese臺中都會區大眾捷運系統

History

Planning of the Taichung MRT started in 1990 with a study conducted by the Taiwanese Bureau of Housing and Urban Development.[2] The study was completed in 1998 and suggested the implementation of three routes (Red, Green, and Blue). The project was formally approved by the Executive Yuan of the ROC government on 23 November 2004. The city government signed a joint development contract with the Taipei City Government on 12 December 2007.[3]

Meanwhile, the Taichung City Government started their own planning of more lines and decided that the much cheaper BRT system would be the future of mass transit in Taichung. Since the corridor of the originally proposed Red Line is partially served by the TRA mass transit construction, the Blue Line corridor was chosen as a first step to implement BRT in Taichung.

Construction of the first line, the Green Line, had been paid for and was expected to begin in October 2007, though it was pushed back and started construction on 8 October 2009.[4] The 16.7 km (10.4 mi) section of the Green Line is now scheduled for completion by 2020 and will include 18 stations.

On 9 March 2011, Kawasaki Heavy Industries announced that it had won a joint order with Alstom Transport SA (France) and CTCI Corp. (Taiwan) to supply 36 units consisting of two-car, driverless trains totaling 29.5 billion yen.[5] While Kawasaki will oversee construction, Alstom will focus on signaling and CTCI will supply the electrical system.[5]

On 16 November 2020, the Green Line started trial runs. The first day of trial runs attracted more than 70,000 rides.[6] The trail runs were suspended on 21 November 2020 when a railway coupler snapped in half.[7]

Proposed network
Map of proposed network
LineModeTerminuskmTotal kmStatus
 G  Green line Wurih-Wunsin-Beitun line MRT Beitun Main - Taichung HSR Station 16.7 24.7Trial (suspended)
Changhua Extension Taichung HSR Station - Changmei Road5.53Planned
Dakeng Extension Jioushe - Yuanshan New Village2.49Planned
 B  Blue line MRT Taichung Harbor - Taiping29.529.5Planned
 O  Orange line BRT Zhongqing - Provincial Advisory Council2525Cancelled[8]
MRT Taichung Airport - Wufeng29.2729.27Planned[8]
LRT Taichung Airport - Wufeng2525Cancelled[8]

Green line
Main article: Green line (Taichung Metro)

The Green line between Beitun and Wuri is an elevated railway with driverless electric trains. The route is 16.5 km (10.3 mi) long and contains eighteen stations. It stretchs from Songzhu Road in Beitun District of Taichung along Beitun Road, Wenxin Road, and Wenxin South Road to the High Speed Rail Station in the Wuri District.[9] It was expected to cost NT$53,491,000,000, and was built by the Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems.[10] The planned total cost for the project is NT$51.39 billion (including land acquisition costs), which is split between the local and central government.[2]

The Green line began trial operation on 16 November 2020 and was supposed to start formal operations on 19 December 2020.[1][11] The trail run was suspended on 19 November 2020 when a railway coupler snapped in half.[1][7]

Blue line
Main article: Taichung BRT
Main article: Blue line (Taichung Metro)

The Blue line began its operation in 2014, as a BRT system running between Providence University and the Taichung Railway Station. It ran along the busy Taiwan Boulevard, on a designated lane made specifically for BRT. Bus stations were built on the divider between the fast and slow lanes on the road. It was the first articulated bus system in Taiwan. The service ended on 8 July 2015 due to the new policy announced by Mayor Lin Chia-lung on 30 March 2015. The designated BRT Lane was changed to an ordinary bus lane, allowing other buses that operate primarily on Taiwan Boulevard to use the lane. The articulated buses that originally ran the route became known as bus route 300. Currently it is a designated bus lane for multiple routes. A MRT system running the same route is currently being planned.

Orange line

A fourth line was planned in 2009 to connect the city with Taichung Airport. However, after multiple proposals to build a MRT and BRT line were rejected by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the city government turned to an LRT system. The system is still being planned.[12] In 2019, MRT project substituted for LRT project.

Fares

Fares for the Taichung Metro start at NT$20 and are capped at NT$50.[13] The fare increases by NT$5 for every 2 kilometers traveled.[14]

Network Map

See also

References
  1. 郝雪卿、蘇木春 (2020-11-15). "台中捷運綠線試營運16日起1個月免費搭 市民興奮終於等到了[影]". 中央通訊社.
  2. "Taichung Metropolitan MRT System Wuri-Wenxin-Beitun Line Construction Project". Department of High Speed Rail, MOTC. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
  3. "Taipei and Taichung signed a contract for the cooperation of the Taichung MRT development project(2007-12-12)". Taichung City Government. 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
  4. "Taichung MRT System Breaks Ground". China Economics News Service. 2008-10-08. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
  5. "Kawasaki Heavy, Others Snag Taiwan Order For Train System". Nikkei. 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  6. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4055554
  7. 趙麗妍 (22 November 2020). "台中捷運重大故障 22日起暫停試營運" (in Chinese). CNA. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  8. "等了3個月…台中大眾運輸網洗牌". United Daily News. 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
  9. "Taipei, Taichung City & the Department of Transportation jump start the Taichung MRT". Compass Magazine. December 2008. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
  10. "臺中都會區捷運系統－ 烏日文心北屯線暨場、站聯合開發". Department of Rapid Transit Systems. 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  11. "Taichung MRT Green line enters systems integration stage". Taiwan Focus. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  12. "林佳龍：捷運橘線被退 才啟動輕軌捷運路網 - 政治 - 自由時報電子報". Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  13. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4048615
  14. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4050031
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