A few days ago, the Lushan (Green Mountain) light rail line in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) was connected from beginning to end. If everything goes according to plan, it should be completed and begin services toward the end of next year.
Last year, the Taipei City Government suggested a light railway in the city’s Neihu District (內湖) modeled on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo — a loop line that connects most of the city’s stations and urban centers — although it has now changed its mind and is suggesting an underground medium-capacity rapid transit system.
While this is going on, construction on stage two of the light rail system in Kaohsiung is just about to begin. Building a street-level system along a busy route will have a massive impact on traffic.
The question that should be asked is: What function should light rail systems fill and how should they be planned?
The most common approach to light rail systems is to have simple stops, do away with pay gates and let them share the road with other vehicles on street-level sections, including the use of traffic lights. This is common in some cities in Europe, the US and Japan, but if such systems were built in traffic hotspots in Taiwan’s metropolitan areas, it would have a huge effect on efficiency and safety due to Taiwan’s unique mix of traffic and high traffic volume.
The first stage of the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT) system’s light rail line was centered on tourism, and since the beginning of trial operations, daily passenger numbers have dropped from 7,000 to 3,200 after a fee was introduced at the beginning of last month.
The second stage, which is to begin before the end of this year, is to include the construction of a light rail track in each direction along the inner lanes of Meishuguan and Dashun roads. An analysis of the planned route shows that without a light rail, the level of service along these roads can be maintained at a fairly smooth level C or D on a six-level scale in which A is the smoothest and F is the most congested.
However, during construction, 400 roadside parking spaces are to be removed, which, in addition to causing problems for the commercial area, would cut traffic along Dashun Road by about half and have an effect on left-turning traffic, causing the level of service to drop to a serious E or F congestion level.
According to the Kaohsiung City Government’s optimistic estimate, 15 percent of the city’s private residents will switch to the light rail system. However, based on observations of the use of private vehicles combined with the slower speed of a street-level light rail system and interference from other traffic, a more objective estimate would be that 3 to 5 percent of residents would change their mode of transportation.
Based on this estimate, traffic along Dashun Road would still deteriorate to a level E or F, which would mean permanent congestion. In addition, the narrower roads would mean that buses and large vehicles would conflict with cars and scooters far more, which would lead to an increase in accidents.
The Kaohsiung light rail system’s plans were drawn up when there was a lack of funding, so there was no other choice. However, the government has now included the development of the Kaohsiung MRT Yellow Line in the light rail development section of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.
Perhaps it would therefore be better to consider the plan in the context of the city’s traffic situation and evaluate whether it would be better to temporarily suspend the second stage of the light rail system and instead integrate the route along the KMRT Yellow Line using an elevated or underground solution.
The alternative would not only cost a huge amount of money, but also create a disastrous traffic situation along Dashun Road and surrounding areas.
Whether or not the light rail plan is a suitable solution will depend on traffic volumes along each route and the road layout. If traffic volumes are high and road conditions inferior, consideration should instead be given to adopting a medium-capacity rapid transit system.
As Kaohsiung is trying to improve its traffic situation, it should rely on sustainable planning and management. The recent short-term demonstration of EcoMobility and three-month period of free public transportation are not sustainable approaches.
One suggestion to improve the situation would be to provide complementary measures such as better shuttle buses.
While changing the light rail in Neihu to a medium-capacity system would be a sustainable solution, it should be noted that the Taipei MRT network is quite complete. While the cost of building a new system is high, the effect of doing so would be low.
Furthermore, the street-level tourism light rail proposed for Donggang Township (東港) in Pingtung County should be suspended if demand is low, and the Keelung light rail that would run from Keelung to the Nangang Exhibition Center should not have street-level stops in the Nangang area.
The budget review for the light rail development section of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program was completed in September. To comply with the spirit of the program, the central government should make careful evaluations based on improving problem areas and addressing demand when it communicates with local governments.
It should also consider making adjustments to plans that have already been approved by local governments to ensure they are sustainable.
Lee Ker-tsung is an associate professor in Feng Chia University’s Department of Transportation Technology and Management.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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