The Taichung City Government would apply for a preliminary inspection next month of the Tai-chung MRT Green Line, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said yesterday, adding that the line would become operational by the end of this year.
Lu made the announcement during a tour of Beitun Depot, which is east of Beitun Main Station, the terminal station of the Green Line, accompanied by Taichung Transportation Bureau Director-General Yeh Chao-fu (葉昭甫) and Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp chairman Lin Chih-ying (林志盈).
The 16.7km line runs from Beitun District (北屯) to the Taichung High Speed Station in Wurih District (烏日).
Photo: Chang Ching-ya, Taipei Times
Planning for the system began during the administration of former Taichung mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), Lu said, adding that she also helped by petitioning to raise funds for the project.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), who was Taichung mayor from 2014 to 2018, oversaw the project as well, Lu said.
Service would be launched by the end of this year, after the system passes a final inspection by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, she said.
Ticket prices for the Taichung MRT Line would start at NT$20, with an extra NT$5 to be added for every 2km traveled, she said.
A feasibility study on the Green Line’s two planned extension lines — from Beitun to Dakeng Scenic Area (大坑風景區) in the north and from Taichung High Speed Rail Station to Changhua County in the south — was reviewed and approved by the ministry on Wednesday last week, Lu said.
The city government would revise the report based on instructions from the ministry, and the ministry would review the revised report again and send it to the Executive Yuan for a final approval, she said.
“We are confident that we will secure approval by the end of this year,” she added.
The city government is planning a ceremony to celebrate the launch of the Green Line, and would invite former presidents, mayors and transportation ministers who supervised the project, she said.
The Taichung Transportation Bureau is also preparing for the launch of the MRT service, Yeh said.
It is stipulating the regulations governing the management of the MRT system, rearranging public bus routes, installing docking stations for the city’s iBike public bicycle-sharing system, as well as bus stops and taxi stops, near the MRT stations, he said.
Lin said that the metro company took over the operation of 18 stations along the MRT Line on Feb. 3, adding that it completed a reliability test of the system on June 12.
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