President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday inspected construction of the MRT Luzhou Line, which is expected to begin operation in November, prior to the opening of the International Flora Expo.
Ma ordered the Taipei City Government to conduct thorough safety inspections before the line opens to the public. The 6.4km line will connect Luzhou and Sanchong in Taipei County to downtown Taipei City. The city government will start safety inspections and test runs in September and hopes to launch services earlier than the original date to allow visitors to access expo sites via the line.
Accompanied by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), Ma thanked Hau and Taipei City’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) for completing the construction of Luzhou Line, which began during Ma’s term as mayor of Taipei.
“The first phase of the MRT network was completed following the launch of the Wenhu Line. The Luzhou Line, along with the Xinyi, Songshan and Wanda lines, will further extend the MRT,” Ma said at the line’s Xingtian Temple (行天宮) Station.
“We are looking forward to the launch of the Luzhou Line and the city government should finish all the preparation work, including safety inspections and test runs, before formal operations begin,” he said.
Ma and Hau later painted ceramic tiles and placed their artworks on a public art piece that will be displayed at the station. They then inspected the MRT trains.
According to the DORTS, more 200,000 commuters are expected to use the line each day. It will take about 19 minutes to get from Luzhou Station to Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station, and about 21 minutes from Luzhou Station to Taipei Main Station.
The line’s Xingtian Temple Station and Zhongshan Elementary School Station are within walking distance of the flora expo site in Xinsheng Park. Taipei City Department of Transportation Commissioner Luo Shiaw-shyan (羅孝賢) said the department would offer shuttle buses at other MRT stations to transport visitors when the expo begins in November.
Ma also toured the expo site in Xinsheng Park earlier yesterday. He lauded the city government for its international promotion of Taipei by hosting the Deaflympics last year and the upcoming expo, adding that he expected the expo would benefit the city.
The city government applied to host the expo during Ma’s term as Taipei mayor. The Taipei International Flora Expo, which runs from Nov. 6 to April 25 next year, will be the first world expo held by the Taipei City Government.
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