Scores of commuters complained yesterday morning about the late notice from the Taipei City Government that it was suspending operations of the Neihu-Muzha Line for five hours.
The city government announced on Friday afternoon that it would suspend the line's operation from 6am to 11am yesterday and today for system inspection and provide free shuttle buses running along the line until 12pm.
The service suspension affected about 20,000 passengers yesterday, and many did not learn about the news until they arrived at the stations.
“[The city government] made the announcement too late. Some of us made our plans weeks ago ... This has inconvenienced a lot of people,” a female teacher surnamed Lee said while waiting for her student at Jiannan Station.
Paula Berman and her husband, who live in Dazhi (大直), did not know about the service suspension, either.
As frequent MRT passengers, they said that the city government should be given some time to fix the problems and revive public trust, but added that the service should be suspended after midnight to prevent public inconvenience.
“[Taking the MRT] has always been a little scary because you've heard about how it was closed for two hours. So every time we take the MRT, we worry a little bit,” she said.
Long lines in front of the shuttle bus stops were seen at the MRT's Zhongxiao Fuxing Station. Many were making phone calls to friends and family to discuss the change of schedule.
Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) deputy chairman Sheng Chih-chang (沈志藏) said the company and the system builder, Bombardier Inc, would use the two mornings to install another uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system, run on automatic train protection system and update the software.
The installation of the new UPS system might take more than two mornings, so the line's operation could be suspended in the morning next weekend, Sheng said.
“We apologize for giving the notice too late, and we will try to inform the public as early as possible if further service suspension is necessary,” Sheng said.
The decision to shut the line was made in accordance with a first-phase system improvement plan presented by Bombardier.
Sheng said the TRTC would discuss a follow-up system inspection with Bombardier after it has presented its second and third-phase improvement plans.
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