Taipei City’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) yesterday apologized for failing to complete compatibility tests for the Wenshan-Neihu MRT Line’s 25 older trains, promising to fix the problem as soon as possible.
The DORTS was scheduled to complete testing by Feb. 24 after refitting the 25 trains from the Muzha MRT Line to make them compatible with the Neihu Line’s Bombardier system.
The trains will help increase the number of trains in operation on the Wenshan-Neihu Line.
Commissioner of the DORTS Richard Chen (陳椿亮) yesterday acknowledged that the contractor and system builder, Bombardier, was still running the compatibility tests, and apologized for the delay.
Chen said the 25 trains had passed a system safety examination, but failed a stopping control test.
Taipei City Secretariat Deputy Director Tan Gwa-guang (譚國光) said responsibility for completing the tests on time fell on the contractor and system builder, and the Taipei City Government would fine the contractor NT$400,000 for each day the tests run behind schedule.
“I want to stress that the compatibility tests will not affect the operation of the Wenshan-Neihu Line,” he added.
Tan also denied that integration problems between the Matra and Bombardier systems continued to haunt the Wenshan-Neihu Line, and said the tests would be completed soon.
Integrating the two systems has been a major issue for the line.
The Wenshan-Neihu Line, an extension of the Muzha Line, did not continue with the French-built Matra system used on the original Muzha Line, and instead had a system built by Montreal-based Bombardier.
A total of 51 new trains are running on the Wenshan-Neihu Line, and Bombardier has refitted the 25 original Muzha Line trains to make them compatible with its system.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) yesterday urged the DORTS to complete the tests as soon as possible, so that more trains can run on the line and shorten the interval between trains.
Tan said Bombardier will send experts to check the system integration and hasten the testing.
When asked when the testing would be completed, however, he declined to give a timetable.
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