Minor malfunctions and mixed reactions from passengers marked the first day of operations on Taipei City’s MRT Neihu Line yesterday.
The first train of the line was dispatched at 9am yesterday, taking Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and city government officials, employees of Taipei City’s Rapid Transit Department and other passengers from Nankang Exhibition Center Station to Taipei Zoo Station.
Hau thanked the staff at the department for their hard work over the past six years and invited the public to experience the new line.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
“The opening of the Neihu Line means that each of the 12 districts in Taipei City are covered by MRT lines, helping complete the MRT network in the city,” Hau said.
Travel time between the two stations took about 45 minutes yesterday. The doors of the cars failed to open immediately after the train arrived at MRT Xihu Station and Dahu Park Station, while some passengers complained that they were unable to enter the cars because the doors closed too quickly.
At about 10am, a train made a sudden stop between Xinhai Station and Linkuang Station for about 15 minutes before resuming service.
Hau said the train was equipped with automatic safety sensors and that it would stop if the sensors detected abnormalities.
The department later said the sudden stop was the result of a false alarm sent by the sensors.
Because of the narrow cars of the Neihu Line and the large crowd during the weekend, several MRT stations, including Zhongxiao Fuxing Station, were cramped with passengers waiting to use the service.
“The cars are too small. The city government should improve the situation. Otherwise similar problems will happen again,” a passenger who waited for more than 20 minutes to get on at Zhongxiao Fuxing Station said.
Some passengers who took luggage with them at MRT Songshan Airport Station also had difficulty entering the cramped cars.
Passenger Wang Wei-lun (王偉綸), a college student who waited in line at Neihu Station to take the first train, said the overall experience was good, but added that the cars were too narrow.
Another passenger, a 62-year-old woman surnamed Yang (楊), said the operation of the Neihu Line provided great convenience to local residents like her, but added that the volume of the broadcasting system inside the cars should be louder.
Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said the crowd inside the cars and in the stations should improve after the first three days of operation, adding that it would send more staff to ensure order at the stations.
The 14.8km line is a medium capacity system connecting the Muzha line’s Zhongshan Junior High School station to the Nankang line’s Taipei Nankang Exhibition Center. Aside from Songshan Airport station and Dazhi station, the entire Neihu line runs above ground.
In celebration of the opening of the Neihu Line, the city government encouraged the public to take the MRT using an EasyCard today and tomorrow at a discounted price.
People who take any MRT line during the three-day period will enjoy a 50 percent discount.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS