Construction of the Luchou line of Taipei's MRT system got underway yesterday with a ground-breaking ceremony attended by city and council officials.
The 7km line will start from the northwest side of Taipei Bridge and end in Luchou, according to the city's Department of Rapid Transit Systems. The underground line will connect to the 19.7km Hsinchuang line, which is currently under construction.
According to transportation officials, the Luchou line will run along Sanho Road in Sanchung and Chunshan First Road in Luchou. It will then turn onto Sanming Road.
Five stations and a service depot will make up the Luchou line, said Chang Hui-chen (
Chang said four of the stations will be located near Sanchuang Elementary School, Sanho Junior High School, St. Ignatius High School and Sanming High School. The last one will be on Sanming Road and called "Luchou station," she said.
The Luchou line will be constructed in two phases.
"While NT$3.7 billion has already been put into place to cover the first phase of the MRT project, the budget for the second phase is still pending," Chang said.
The cost for the project will be covered by the city, county and central governments.
"The entire budget for the Luchou line is estimated at NT$21.2 billion," Chang said. "Of that, 80 percent will come from the central government. Taipei City and Taipei County will take care of the remaining 20 percent."
The spokeswoman said construction costs could climb higher if electricity prices rise.
Though the Luchou line is not scheduled to be operational until December 2009, government officials said yesterday they hoped contractors would finish early.
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