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Kaohsiung MRT's Red Line gets the green light

Kaohsiung residents will soon be able to enjoy the convenience of the city's new rapid transit system after Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) received a conditional green light to begin operations on the north-south Red Line.

After a thorough inspection of the system on Tuesday, inspectors from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications told KRTC to make five improvements, including running tests on all the ticketing machines and obtaining documents proving the safety of the system's fire fighting equipment, before beginning operations.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) issued a press release late on Tuesday, urging the company to rectify the flaws within one week.

Free rides should be granted to residents for a short period following the start of operations, the mayor said.

Deputy Kaohsiung Mayor Lin Jen-yi (林仁益) said the transit system should open by Wednesday at the latest.

The MRT system is composed of a Red Line that connects Siaogang (小港) and Gangshan (岡山), Kaohsiung County, and an Orange Line that connects Sitzyywan (西子灣) and Daliau (大寮), Kaohsiung County.

Construction began on Oct. 24, 2001, and the system was due to begin operations on Oct. 20 last year. Several cave-ins during construction of the Orange Line delayed progress.

KRTC and the city have yet to agree on fares.

Meanwhile, two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung City councilors alleged yesterday that KRTC was rushing to begin operations before the March 22 presidential election in a bid to boost Democratic Progressive Party candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) performance.

City Councilor Wang Ling-chiao (王齡嬌) told a press conference that the north end of the Red Line should not begin operations before the safety of the entire system has been confirmed.

"[The company] wants to begin operations regardless of people's safety. I think this must be related to the presidential election," KMT Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Po-lin (黃柏霖) said.

When approached by reporters, Fan Chen-po (范陳柏), KRTC general manager, dismissed Wang and Huang's allegations, saying that the company's objective had always been to begin operations as soon as possible.
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