A central governing body should be formed to integrate existing agencies governing mass rapid transit (MRT) systems and to help New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) fulfill his pledge to complete the “Three Rings and Three Lines” project, the progress of which has languished since it was first proposed by Chu in 2010, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said yesterday.
DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) told a press conference in Taipei that the stalling construction is largely due to the three municipal governments — Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan — having different opinions on how the project should be carried out, and the best way to resolve the predicament is to establish a central agency that governs all MRT projects.
Gao and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Saturday at a public event discussed the trailing progress of the MRT project. Ko said the Taipei City Government would relinquish its Department of Rapid Transit Systems to the central government if the Ministry of Transportation and Communications establishes a central governing body to integrate existing management agencies and resolve issues surrounding the project proposed by Chu.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The intergovernmental project involves the extension and connection of new and existing MRT routes in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan. Construction of the project has been largely confined to rudimentary infrastructure, with the routes either under review by the legislature or still in the design stage.
DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) said that New Taipei City needs a public transportation system, because vehicles account for a quarter of the PM2.5 — fine particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter — pollution in the Greater Taipei area.
The city has a population of about 4 million, and the public’s demand for clean air should not go unanswered because of Chu’s failure to honor his pledge, she added.
The MRT network is part of the nation’s infrastructure and, now that Ko has made public his stance regarding turning over the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems, the ministry should step up to the task of overseeing all of the nation’s MRT systems, she said.
The Mass Rapid Transit Act (大眾捷運法) states that the ministry is in charge of reviewing MRT project proposals and that local governments are responsible for managing and operating the systems, ministry official Wei Yu (魏瑜) said.
The ministry does not see any problem for local governments to collaborate and solve problems hindering the construction of MRT lines, she said.
Wei said the Greater Taipei area plan has been implemented as designed, adding that there was progress on each line.
Aside from the Wenhu, Zhonghe-Xinlu and Bannan lines that are already in operation, Wei said that the construction of the first phase of the Circle Line, which is to run from MRT Xindian District Office Station to New Taipei City’s Wugu Industrial Park, has already begun, adding that it is scheduled for completion next year.
Construction of the Wanda and Danhai Light Rail lines has also begun, she said.
In addition, she said, the Dingpu Line, which is to run from MRT Yongning Station to Dingpu High Tech Park, is scheduled to be completed in June this year.
According to Wei, the New Taipei City Government is revising its plans for the Sanying Line, the Green Line in Taoyuan and the Ankeng Line following suggestions from the ministry and the National Development Council, adding that the city could start preparations for construction after revisions are approved.
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