Taipei City’s MRT Neihu Line will commence operation on July 4, and free trial runs will begin at the end of this month, the Taipei City Government announced yesterday. The line was originally scheduled to be fully operational this month.
The city government will invite President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and city councilors to join the trial run on June 28. The line will open free of charge for about 25,000 residents of the city’s Neihu (內湖), Nangang (南港), Zhongshan (中山) and Songshan (松山) districts on June 29, and for the general public on June 30.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) announced yesterday that people who take the MRT using an EasyCard from July 4 to July 6 will enjoy a 50 percent discount.
“The discount applies to all MRT lines. We invite the public to take the MRT at a discounted price during the first three days of the Neihu Line service to celebrate the opening,” Hau told a press conference yesterday at Taipei City Hall.
The 14.8km Neihu Line, which has 10 above-ground stations and two underground stations, is an extension of the Muzha Line starting from the Zhongshan Junior High School Station.
Luo Shiaw-shyan (羅孝賢), commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Transportation, said that once the Blue Line’s Nangang Exhibition Hall Station is open, it will cost NT$40 to travel from there to the Neihu Line’s Songshan Airport Station. The Nangang Exhibition Hall Station will serve as a transfer station between the Brown (Muzha-Neihu) Line and the Blue Line, he said, and during construction the department will offer free shuttles to Nangang Station, the current terminus of the Blue Line.
The Muzha Line will be suspended on Saturday for system integration, Luo said, adding that bus routes along the Neihu Line will be adjusted to accommodate the new stations.
Hau said the city government chose to delay the launch of the Neihu Line to July 4 to prevent these changes from affecting people taking college entrance exams from July 1 to July 3.
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.
In response to complaints about noise from the line, the city’s Department of Rapid Transit System said it had installed soundproof panels to meet the needs of local residents.
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