Dongmen MRT Station is set to officially open at 6am today with a one-month fare discount to celebrate its debut, with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) saying it is to dispatch more staff to explain the route changes to passengers at major stations.
The station, which is located on Xinyi Road between Jinshan S Road and Yong Kang Street, serves as a transfer station for the Xinzhuang and Zhonghe lines.
Starting today, Taipei MRT’s Tamsui Line and the Zhonghe Line are to run independently, with Guting Station replacing Taipei Main Station as the new transfer station for passengers from Jhonghe (中和) heading in the direction of Taipei Main Station and along the Tamsui Line.
Photo: CNA
At the station’s launch ceremony yesterday, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the opening of the station marked the first change to MRT routes since the metropolitan transport system came into operation 15 years ago. He also called for the cooperation of passengers as more MRT transfer stations along key lines are brought into operation to avoid the heavy passenger numbers seen at certain transfer stations such as Taipei Main Station.
“We need passengers to be cooperative with the change to MRT routes and we hope they can support it. We will strengthen measures to help passengers familiarize themselves with the new routes and to avoid inconvenience,” he said.
TRTC general manager Tan Gwa-guang (譚國光) said the route change is designed to ease the flow of passengers at Taipei Main Station and that about 50,000 passengers are set to transfer at Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station every day from now.
The final train running directly between Beitou MRT Station and Nanshijiao Station attracted some passengers who waited at the two stations to document the last trains running along the old routes.
In celebration of the station’s opening, passengers using an EasyCard can travel free of charge through Guting Station, Dongmen Station and Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station over the course of the next 30 days.
EasyCard holders traveling between any of the four stations on the Zhonghe Line (Nanshijiao, Jinan, Yongan Market and Dingxi) and north of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station on the Tamsui Line are to enjoy a 30 percent discount.
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