The first phase of the Danhai Light Rail Transit system in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) opened yesterday, with people being offered free rides for a month starting today.
A ceremony was held at the Tamsui District Office, with New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) taking guests on an inaugural ride.
The 7.3km-long tram line, called the Green Mountain Line, connects the Hongshulin MRT Station and Kanding Station to the north, and has a total of 11 stations. It is the first light-rail system in northern Taiwan.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of the New Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems
It is part of what is to become a four-section rail network comprised of the Blue Seaside Line currently being built, as well as the Bali and Sanzhi lines, which are still in the planning stages.
The first phase of the Blue Seaside Line is to have three stations — Taipei University of Marine Technology, Shalun Beach and Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf — and is expected to be completed next year, the New Taipei City Government said.
The second phase would add six more stations along the Tamsui River — extending the line from the wharf to Tamsui MRT Station — it said.
The Danhai Light Rail Transit System is expected to cost NT$15.3 billion (US$496.37 million), the city government said.
It is part of the 1,748 hectare Danhai New Town project, which was launched in 1992 in a bid to attract 300,000 residents by 2036.
The Green Mountain Line has seven elevated stations and four ground-level stations.
The trams travel on rail tracks at ground level, but share the road with other vehicles and follow the traffic rules, such as stopping at red traffic lights, the city said.
The cars do not have automatic doors and passengers need to press a button to open them, it said.
The stations are decorated with pieces by artist Jimmy Liao (幾米), New Taipei Metro Corp said, adding that the cars are painted light blue and have large windows for sightseeing.
After the free-ride period is over, the trams are to operate every day between 6:30am and 10pm at 15-minute intervals, with fares ranging from NT$20 to NT$25, company general manager Wu Kuo-chi (吳國濟) said.
Passengers using stored-value cards would receive a 20 percent discount, the company said, adding that passengers could also use the NT$1,280 monthly pass introduced by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments.
Starting in June, nine mobile payment services would be introduced: Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, iPASS x Line Pay, Ali Pay, Union Pay, Garmin Pay, Fitbit Pay and Hami Pay, the company said.
The Danhai Light Rail Transit system is a joint venture by Taiwan Rolling Stock Co (台灣車輛) and German-based Voith Engineering Services, that has given Taiwanese transportation manufacturing companies the opportunity to be involved in the development process for the first time, Chu said.
The partnership seeks to facilitate technology transfers and create a supply chain and maintenance operations, he added.
The light-rail transit system could also create additional business opportunities worth NT$14.4 billion nationwide if adopted by other cities, New Taipei Metro Corp said.
The government hopes that by 2025 the nation will be able to manufacture more than half of the light rail components it needs.
The nation’s first light-rail system opened late last year in Kaohsiung.
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT: A new committee would investigate a backlog of US weapons sales to Taiwan, said its chairman, US Representative Mike Gallagher The US should formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and end its outdated and counterproductive “one China” policy, US Representative Tom Tiffany and 18 other US lawmakers wrote in a petition. “It is time to change the status quo and recognize the reality denied by the US government for decades: Taiwan is an independent nation,” Tiffany told the Epoch Times. “As our long-standing and valued partner, correctly acknowledging their independence from communist China is long overdue.” The resolution also asks the administration of US President Joe Biden to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and to negotiate a bilateral free-trade
The Pentagon is preparing for US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Taiwan later this year, Punchbowl News reported on Monday, citing an official directly involved in the talks. US administration officials anticipate McCarthy would visit Taiwan some time in the spring, the report said. McCarthy had previously pledged to visit Taiwan if he became House speaker. He was elected speaker earlier this month. He had also said that he would have liked to join then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s delegation when she visited Taiwan in August last year. Pelosi’s 19-hour visit to Taipei marked the first time in 25 years
Taiwan’s Chou Chieh-yu (周婕妤) was crowned the Kamui WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Champion after shutting out British pool titan Allison Fisher 9-0 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the organizers said on Sunday. Following the championship win at Harrah’s Resort and Casino Atlantic City, Chou pocketed US$30,000 and became the first female competitor to hold both the 9-ball and 10-ball world titles since Briton Kelly Fisher in 2012. Chou, 36, won the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship in Austria in September last year after clinching a silver medal at last year’s World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, in July. “I’m very excited and it’s like
JOINT OPERATIONS: Participating in the IMET program, which offers professional training and education to military personnel, would boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities The US government is appropriating funding to help Taiwan participate in its International Military Education & Training (IMET) program to enhance interoperability and capabilities for joint operations of the Taiwanse and US militaries. The funding for Taiwan’s participation in the program is mentioned in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, a US$1.7 trillion spending bill funding the US federal government for the fiscal year 2023. It covers funding for military support for Ukraine, defense spending and regions affected by natural disasters. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that IMET is an important US