The Taipei City Government unveiled plans to keep the MRT running for 42 hours straight and mapped out three shuttle routes for people attending New Year’s Eve events ahead of the expected crush at countdown parties in Taipei on Saturday.
The Taipei Metro system is to operate nonstop from 6am on Saturday until 12am on Jan. 2, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC, 台北捷運) said, adding that service intervals on all lines are to be shortened, with times between trains on Lines 1 to 5 set at 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4.5 minutes, 3.5 minutes and 2.5 minutes respectively.
Depending on passenger volume, trains are to not stop at some stations, TRTC said.
Photo provided by Taipei Rapid Transit Corp
To avoid being stuck in crowds, people planning to travel by MRT to events at the Taipei City Hall Plaza are advised to disembark at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station on the Bannan Line (5) or Xinyi Anhe Station on the Tamsui-Xinyi Line (2) and walk the rest of the way, the company said.
Similarly, people leaving should avoid the Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101/World Trade Center stations and go to Xinyi Anhe, Yongchun or Xiangshan, it said.
Fourteen YouBike rental stations closest to the city government building are to be shut down from 5pm, with an additional six stations to be shut down after 7pm, it said.
The YouBike stations are to be back in service at 5am on New Year’s Day, TRTC said.
To allow a stage to be built, five lanes of Shihfu Road in front of Taipei City Hall and on the adjacent section of Renai Road are to be closed from today to Wednesday, the Taipei Department of Transportation said.
On New Year’s Eve, traffic controls would be in place along all roads leading to Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said.
The first stage is to begin at 7pm and cars will not be allowed to enter the area bordered by Zhongxiao E, Songren, Xinyi and Keelung roads, the department said.
The second stage is to begin at 8pm and is to see the zone where traffic control is administered expanded to include all of Renai and Yixian roads, it said.
Starting from 10pm, all cars will be prohibited from entering or leaving areas around Taipei City Hall, it said.
The department said it would deploy shuttle buses operating along three routes after the countdown, with the services to travel to Taipei Railway Station, as well as Gongguan (公館) and Muzha (木柵) areas.
People wanting to take the shuttle buses can embark at the intersections of Renai Road and Yanji Street, Keelung Road and Yanji Street or Songde and Xinyi roads, it said.
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