Taipei’s MRT Xinyi Line attracted more than 200,000 passengers yesterday on its first day of operation, with major stations including Daan Park and Elephant Mountain stations packed with visitors.
Passengers flocked to the stations along the line, which began operation at 6am yesterday.
Daan Park Station, with an open garden featuring artificial waterfalls and landscapes, was packed with visitors taking pictures and enjoying the views. The lobby was turned into a performance stage at night with concerts.
Photo: Chang Chuan-chia, Taipei Times
According to Ling Chi-yao (凌啟堯), director of Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s public relations division, the ridership of the line reached about 200,000 as of 7pm, and the total ridership of all MRT lines increased to about 260,000 during the day.
Three hundred company staff members were on duty to manage the crowds and explain the transfer routes at 18 major stations, and free guide pamphlets were also offered at every MRT station, he said.
The 6.5km long line, which covers seven stations — Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Dongmen, Daan Park, Daan Station, Xinyi Anhe, Taipei 101-World Trade Center and Elephant Mountain — integrates with the Tamsui Line and allows passengers to travel directly between Beitou and Elephant Mountain stations in about 35 minutes.
For one month, passengers who use an EasyCard are to enjoy free rides along the line, and can also get a 30 percent discount when traveling between the Chungho Line and part of the Tamsui Line between National Taiwan University Hospital and Beitou stations.
With a total budget of NT$39 billion (US$1.3 billion), the Xinyi Line was the second-most expensive MRT line in Taipei following the Chungho Line.
As the line passes through Taipei’s financial and business districts of Xinyi and Daan, the city government allotted a large part of the budget to the design of each station.
Daan Park Station, for example, cost about NT$14 million to design.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS