A report by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times sister newspaper) last Friday said there were six suspensions of more than 40 minutes, 40 delays of more than five minutes and 108 “incidents” during the four-and-a-half months since operations began.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) faces a touchy political situation. The faulty construction of the Maokong Gondola and problems with the Wen-Hu line led to questioning of Hau by Control Yuan members last Wednesday. He said problems in the initial network design resulted in the Wen-Hu line’s frequent shutdowns. (“Hau faces questions on MRT problems,” Nov. 12, page 3). Integration of the Muzha and Neihu lines’ systems seems to have been a more complicated task than originally thought.
It is ridiculous that the Taipei City Government spent about NT$1 million on changing the name of the line from the “Muzha-Neihu Line [Zha-Hu]” to the “Wenshan-Neihu Line [Wen-Hu].” The name change is a waste of Taipei residents’ money. Does the MRT now work better after the name change? The answer is definitely not. Recently, the Wen-Hu line experienced a breakdown on Nov. 5, and another three-minute shutdown on Nov. 11.
Investigation into this touchy subject are being conducted by the Control Yuan now. What we care about is the safety of the Wen-Hu Line. It is an urgent matter for citizens who wish to use the line.
IRENE WANG
Neihu, Taipei
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