Taipei’s Nangang Railway Station (南港) is to be officially upgraded to a Tier-1 train station tomorrow, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said yesterday, adding that the station would be the nation’s fourth to house three different railway systems after the high-speed rail system begins operating its southbound train service from the Nangang District in July.
In July, Nangang Station is to house the TRA, high-speed rail system and the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit system.
People can also access three different railway systems in Taipei Railway Station, New Taipei City’s Banciao Railway Station (板橋) and Kaohsiung’s Zuoying Station (左營).
The prospect of having three of the nation’s most-used transport systems available in Nangang has boosted real-estate prices near Nangang Station.
A 2013 study by National Realty showed that the values of properties near the railway stations housing three railway systems had risen by an average of 30 percent. Nangang topped the other three stations, with an increase in property values of about 75 percent.
In addition to being the home of three transport systems, the railway station building has been further developed to include a hotel, a shopping center and a parking facility.
According to the TRA, Nangang Station was built in 1899. It began offering passenger train services in 2001 when the Ministry of Transportation and Communications relocated the station’s railway tracks underground.
The TRA said it began to use the new Nangang Station in 2008, with the number of travelers accessing the station gradually increasing since then, as parts of the railway stations are run by private business owners under various business models. The station is set to become a new gateway to Taipei from the east, the TRA said.
To celebrate the landmark, the TRA is to have one of its EMU700 commuter trains painted to represent Japan’s Keikyu Corp, which formed a friendship pact with the TRA last year.
The train is to leave for Hsinchu from Nangang at 10:48am tomorrow, it said.
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