The Neihu Line of Taipei’s MRT will open by the end of this month and Neihu residents will be able to ride for free during the line’s trial run, the Taipei City Government said.
Final inspection of the system by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications was completed last week.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said that while the city government was waiting for formal notification from the ministry to announce the launch date, he would be able to make the announcement tomorrow.
Tom Chang (常歧德), director of the city’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS), said Neihu residents could apply to their local borough offices to take part in the trial runs.
The trial run is only open to Neihu residents because of manpower limitations and time restrictions meant DORTS could not handle bigger crowds, he said.
Hau said soundproof panels were installed along the tracks in response to complaints about the noise created by the trains, but noise-prevention efforts were an ongoing process.
“We will work to resolve the noise problem until the residents are satisfied,” he said.
The 14.8km Neihu Line, which has 10 above-ground stations and two underground stations, connects Zhongshan Junior High School Station on the Muzha Line with the Blue Line that runs east and west across the city.
Travel time between Neihu and Taipei Main Station will be 28 minutes, while a trip from the Nangang Exhibition Hall to Taipei Zoo will take about 40 minutes.
Chang said integration testing of the Neihu Line and the Muzha Line went well and that the service on the Muzha Line would be halted for about two hours on the day of the Neihu Line’s launch to allow the integration of the two systems.
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