An extension of the MRT Nangang Line that connects the line’s Nangang Station with the MRT Wenshan-Neihu Line’s Nangang Exhibition Center Station is scheduled to launch by next month.
The extension, which is about 1km long, lengthens the MRT Nangang Line along Zhongxiao E Road and includes two stations — Nangang Station and Nangang Exhibition Center Station. The line’s Nangang Station was open for service in 2008.
The connection will join the Nangang Station with the Nangang Exhibition Center Station, and passengers will no longer be required to take shuttle buses between the two stations.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday inspected the Nangang Exhibition Center Station and defended the efforts of Taipei City’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) when asked about the schedule delay.
“Operational safety and construction quality are our priority to ensure the safety of passengers. There’s no schedule for the trial run, and we will not rush the construction and inspection process,” he said.
The extension line was scheduled to launch this month, but the deadline was pushed back.
DORTS said the Ministry of Transportation and Communications required it to conduct two large-scale inspections before the service could be launched.
As the Nangang Line was already in operation, the department was only able to conduct trial runs after the MRT service closed at midnight, it said.
The inspections will take about one month to complete and include tests and assessments of the structure of the MRT line, such as tunnels and rails, as well as operational safety measures, DORTS said.
A launch date will be decided after the inspection is approved, the ministry said.
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