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.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
RSS