The new line connecting Taipei’s MRT metropolitan railway system to Taoyuan International Airport is to be operational by the end of next year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said yesterday.
“We will absolutely keep our promise to officially open the line by the end of next year,” Yeh said, while briefing President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who was inspecting the Taipei terminus of the Taoyuan International Airport MRT.
The line was originally scheduled to open this year.
Photo: CNA
Ma stepped inside one of the cars to be used on the 51km line to check its interior design and try out one of the seats.
The line to the airport would allow Taipei’s transportation network to be more extensive, Ma said, adding that it would also help reduce the nation’s carbon emissions.
“I’m very glad and relieved to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel for the opening of the airport MRT,” Ma said.
The line has been under construction since 2006, but progress was held up by engineering difficulties on the Taipei section of the track, Yeh said, adding that the Taipei City Government amended the original plans for an overland track, requiring the section between Taipei Main Station and New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) to be laid underground.
With the construction phase of the project completed, the line is now to be put through mechanical and electrical testing to allow for its full automation, said the Bureau of High Speed Rail, which is to take charge of the line before turning it over to Taoyuan Metro Corp.
While testing for the Taipei section is just beginning, testing on the other sections is well under way, Bureau of High Speed Rail Director-General Hu Hsiang-lin (胡湘麟) said.
The bureau estimates that mechanical and electrical testing on the Taipei section could be completed as soon as April, leaving plenty of time for additional inspections before the line’s official opening.
However, some bureau officials acknowledged privately that a number of unknown variables make it impossible to absolutely guarantee a date for the project’s completion.
Ma said the line, once completed, would reduce congestion caused by the rapid increase in tourists arriving at the Taoyuan airport.
There is to be a direct train between the airport and Taipei Main Station every 10 minutes, with an estimated transit time of 35 minutes. Customers taking flights will be able to check luggage in at Taipei Main Station, from where it is to be taken to the airport and loaded onto planes. Other than the direct service, there are to be trains every five minutes stopping at stations in New Taipei City and Taoyuan.
Additional reporting by CNA
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