The Taipei City Government yesterday acknowledged the lack of a utility tunnel for maintenance trains on the MRT Luzhou Line, but dismissed safety concerns over the design.
Taipei City Deputy Secretary-General Tan Gwa-guang (譚國光) said the line did not include a utility tunnel (an extra track within a double-track system used for temporary parking of out-of-service trains) in its original design because of budget concerns, but added that it did not affect the safety of the line.
“A utility tunnel is not a necessary part of the design for a line. There are no safety concerns, but the lack of a utility tunnel would be inconvenient for train dispatchers,” Tan said at Taipei City Hall.
Tan made the remarks in response to a story in the Chinese-language Next Magazine, which challenged the Taipei City Government over what it called the line's poor design. The magazine said the city government rushed the line's construction, adding that the lack of a utility tunnel would pose safety risks and inconvenience passengers because there could be delays or line suspensions if trains malfunction.
Taipei City Government spokesperson Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) also rebutted the article, which blamed Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and his predecessor, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), for the line's design.
Chao said the line was designed under former mayor Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) term.
Showing a document signed by Chen in 1997, Chao said the former mayor's municipal team adopted a series of designs on the line to save money, including smaller platforms and cancelation of a utility tunnel.
“The design of the line was not determined by Ma or Hau. We deeply regret the fact that the magazine made a groundless accusation and failed to uncover the truth,” she said.
Last month, Ma and Hau inspected construction of the line, which is expected to begin operations in November.
The 6.4km line will connect Luzhou and Sanchong in Taipei County to downtown Taipei City.
The city government said more than 200,000 commuters are expected to use the line on a daily basis. It will take about 19 minutes to get from Luzhou Station to Zhong-xiao Xinsheng Station, and about 21 minutes from Luzhou Station to Taipei Main Station.
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