Taipei’s Songjiang-Nanjing (松江南京) MRT station was opened for early guided tours yesterday after local media reported that the station is complicated and “maze-like.”
When the city’s new Songshan-Xindian Green Line opens within the next two weeks, the station is to become a transfer station between the new line and the older Zhonghe-Xinzhuang-Luzhou Orange Line.
Construction barriers were removed yesterday to allow visitors a closer look at the new station and the Songshan line trains, which arrived and opened their doors every few minutes.
While the station’s internal glass doors remained locked, some visitors were clearly confused, including an elderly man who was waiting on the Songshan level of the station for a train to the Xingtian Temple (行天宮) station on the Luzhou Line.
The Songjiang-Nanjing station’s Songshan level was opened early to give residents time to get used to its unique design, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said, adding that the new level has two platforms divided by the MRT tracks.
Touring city residents gave mixed reviews.
The station has “huge design errors” said one visitor, who wished only to be identified by the surname Lo (羅), adding that passengers who enter on the wrong side of the Songshan line would be forced to traverse different levels of the station to correct their mistake.
Another named Shih Yao-shu (施瑤書) said she appreciated the quality of the station’s wall art, but felt its layout was rather complicated.
While adding that clear signage could help prevent people getting lost, she said final judgement would have to wait until the new line begins operation.
In response, Taipei’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems said the station’s design was necessitated by space and budget limitations, as well as the large number of people expected to transfer between lines.
Once people get used to the two different platforms, they will be able to transfer more quickly than if only a single platform had been constructed, the department said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS