Taichung MRT
Trains at Beitun Depot
Trains at Beitun Depot
Overview
OwnerTaichung City Government
LocaleTaichung
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of lines1
Number of stations18
Websitehttps://www.tmrt.com.tw/
Operation
Began operation25 April 2021
Operator(s)Taichung Mass Rapid Transit System Co.--
Technical
System length16.71 km (10.38 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

The Taichung MRT (also called Taichung Mass Rail Transit or Taichung Metro) is a rapid transit system in Taichung, Taiwan. In addition to Taichung, it may serve Changhua and Nantou counties in the future. Taichung Metro's first route, the Green Line, officially began operation on April 25, 2021, making it the 5th rapid transit system operating in Taiwan. [1]

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 was scheduled for completion by 2020 and includes 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 trial runs were suspended on 21 November 2020 when a railway coupler snapped in half.[7] On 10 March 2021, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) announced that trial runs will resume on March 25, 2021, and the opening ceremony will be a month after.[8] The Green Line officially began operation as scheduled on April 25, 2021, making it the 5th rapid transit system operating in Taiwan.

Network

Map of proposed network
LineModeTerminusLength

km

Green line Wurih-Wunsin-Beitun line Rapid transit Beitun Main - Taichung HSR Station 16.7

Green line

Cityscape along Taichung Metro Green Line

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 billion, 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 trial run was suspended on 19 November 2020 when a railway coupler snapped in half.[1][7] The trial resumed on March 25, 2021 and the line officially opened on April 25, 2021.[8]

Fares

Fares for the Taichung Metro start at NT$20 and are capped at NT$50.[12] The fare increases by NT$5 for every 2 kilometers traveled.[13]

Future Expansion

LineModeTerminuskmTotal kmStatus
Green line Changhua Extension Rapid transit Taichung HSR Station - Changmei Road5.53 24.7Planned
Dakeng Extension Jiushe - Yuanshan New Village2.49Planned
 B  Blue line Rapid transit Taichung Harbor - Taiping29.529.5Planned
 O  Orange line Bus rapid transit Zhongqing - Provincial Advisory Council2525Cancelled[14]
Rapid transit Taichung Airport - Wufeng29.2729.27Planned[14]
Light rail Taichung Airport - Wufeng2525Cancelled[14]
 R  Red line Rapid transit Shepi - Shin Min High School11.311.3Planned
 p  Purple line Rapid transit Yuanshan New Village - DaqingPlanned

Blue line

The BRT 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. While the system was still being planned, they switched to a MRT system again. In 2019, MRT project substituted for LRT project. In 2021, LRT project switched back to the original MRT project again.

Kenan Aiqin Bridge (科湳愛琴橋), which crosses over National Freeway 1 and Provincial Highway 74, has a space on the center median allocated for the line.[15][16]

Red line

The Red Line is being planned.

Purple line

The Purple Line is being planned.

Network Map

(Blue Line is being planned and the route is not a straight line, it follows Taiwan Boulevard which is not a straight line for most of the time until it goes to Shalu Railway Station)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "中捷通車／台中捷運綠線大事記". udn.com. 中央社. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  2. 1 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. 2009-10-08. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
  5. 1 2 "Kawasaki Heavy, Others Snag Taiwan Order For Train System". Nikkei. 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  6. ↑ "Taichung MRT Green Line draws 70,000 on first day of free rides | Taiwan News | 2020-11-17 13:49:00". 17 November 2020.
  7. 1 2 趙麗妍 (22 November 2020). "台中捷運重大故障 22日起暫停試營運" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). CNA. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  8. 1 2 Keoni Everington (10 March 2021). "Taiwan's Taichung MRT line gets rid of China-made couplers, launch set for April 25". Taiwan News. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  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. ↑ "Maximum one-way fare for Green Line in Taiwan's Taichung set at NT$50 | Taiwan News | 2020-11-08 20:55:00". 8 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "Taiwan's Taichung to offer one-month free ride on MRT Green Line | Taiwan News | 2020-11-10 14:38:00". 10 November 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 "等了3個月…台中大眾運輸網洗牌". United Daily News. 2015-03-24. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
  15. ↑ "臺中市水湳40M-11號道路與中科東向道路銜接工程-科湳愛琴橋". Construction Bureau of Taichung City Government (in Chinese (Taiwan)). June 1, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  16. ↑ 唐在馨 (March 8, 2021). "捷運不走「科湳愛琴橋」了怎麼辦？中市規劃替代方案中." Liberty Times (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved April 26, 2021.
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