Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that the first phase of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin Line is to be completed by 2025.
Ko made the comment while inspecting construction of the underground Taipei Botanical Garden MRT Station.
In the first phase of construction, a 9.5km-long line connecting Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Juguang Station in Zhonghe District (中和) is being built.
The section would have nine underground stations.
According to the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems, the Taipei Botanical Garden Station would be the smallest of all the MRT stations currently in operation.
To preserve the integrity of the site, engineers had to carry out 44 months of archeological excavation before construction began, it said.
Built by the Japanese as the “Taipei Nursery” in 1896, the site was expanded in 1921 to become Taipei Botanical Gardens, which is home to more than 2,000 species of plants.
Two buildings in the garden are listed as historical structures.
The second phase of the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin Line, which is still in the planning stage, is expected to extend to Huilong Station in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊) and include 13 stations over 13.3km.
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