A plan to add direct trains between Daan (大安站) and Xinbeitou (新北投站) stations cannot be approved because the noise on trial runs exceeded maximum allowed levels, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said on Saturday.
Passengers taking the Tamsui-Xinyi Line (淡水信義線), also known as the Red Line, to and from Xinbeitou station must transfer at Beitou station (北投站), while the trains running between Xinbeitou and Beitou stations only have three compartments.
The noise on trial runs of six-compartment trains between Daan and Xinbeitou stations did not comply with the Noise Control Standards (噪音管制標準), so the plan was not approved by the Taipei City Government, the company said.
The plan was proposed by the wardens of Beitou District’s (北投) Changan (長安), Zhonghxin (中心), Wenquan (溫泉) and Linquan (林泉) boroughs in a meeting with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in May.
Following Ko’s instructions, TRTC evaluated the proposal and conducted test runs on June 20.
The noise standards allow a noise level of no more than 85 decibels, with an average continuous sound level of no more than 65 decibels, but the noise levels of nearly half of the test runs exceeded the maximum allowed noise levels, the company said.
The noise levels cannot be improved through engineering due to structural load limits, it said, adding that changing the trains from three compartments to six extended the noise and vibrations that residents on the line were exposed to.
The trial runs resulted in a substantial increase in noise and vibration complaints — from one complaint per month to 100 complaints on the day of the trial, as well as 40 complaints that the time needed to run the trial caused more crowding on the regular runs between Beitou and Xinbeitou stations, it added.
The noise caused by the three-compartment trains was tested on June 21, with the levels falling below the maximum allowed levels, it said, adding that the service would continue to use the three-compartment trains.
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