Taipei MRT yesterday advised against embarking at the Taipei City Hall or Taipei 101/World Trade Center stations this evening to avoid crowds attending the New Year’s Eve fireworks display at Taipei 101.
To accommodate New Year’s celebrations, the capital’s rapid transit system is to run continuously for 42 hours from 6am today to 11:59pm tomorrow.
The Blue and Red lines are to see the heaviest traffic earlier in the evening, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC, 臺北捷運) said.
Photo: CNA
After the fireworks conclude, the operator advised avoiding the crowds near Taipei 101 by embarking at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall or Yongchun stations on the Blue Line, Xinyi Anhe or Xiangshan stations on the Red Line, or Nanjing Sanmin Station on the Green Line.
From 7pm today, the Blue and Red lines would run the most trains, with trains running every two to three minutes on the Blue Line and Xiangshan trains running every three minutes on the Red Line, TRTC said.
Train frequency for other lines would be adjusted according to demand, it added.
Photo: CNA
Nearly 800 officers and three police dogs would be deployed this evening, Taipei police said.
Illicit materials — including drugs, weapons and explosives — are prohibited at the New Year’s Eve celebrations, Xinyi Precinct Deputy Chief Lin Sheng-chang (林聖章) said.
Anyone carrying balloons should also remain mindful of others’ safety, Lin added.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) yesterday urged those attending New Year countdown events to observe all disease prevention regulations, adding that any breach now could see a rapid resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan.
To ease traffic along the east coast over the National Day holiday, the Freeway Bureau said that traffic controls would be in place along the Chiang Wei-shui Memorial Freeway (Freeway No. 5) from today to Jan. 2.
Controls would be implemented on the Nangang System Exchange southbound entrance ramp from 6am to 12pm today and tomorrow, it said.
Tomorrow and Jan. 2 from 2pm to 9pm, the northbound entrances at Suao (蘇澳), Luodong (羅東), Yilan and Toucheng (頭城) would be regulated, it said, referring travelers to notices along the freeway for any changes.
Additional reporting by Chen Hsin-yu
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