The Tainan Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) is to be a monorail, the first in Taiwan, the Tainan Bureau of Transportation said on Thursday last week.
The Tainan City Government has submitted draft regulations governing the technical specifications of monorail systems to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to handle the unprecedented project, the bureau said.
Monorail designs are compact and quiet, fast to build, and have a small environmental footprint compared with the steel wheel and bogie design commonly used in Taiwanese cities, it said.
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
Nations across the world operate monorail metro systems, and modern designs often feature separate walkways for maintenance crews and passenger evacuation, enabling easier maintenance and repair, and improved safety, it said.
Monorails do not require any new electric power systems or engineering methods, which minimizes the potential for technical problems, it added.
Taiwan’s narrow streets and the increasing need to preserve cultural heritage suggest that monorails are a better fit not only for Tainan, but also for other cities, the bureau said.
The proposed regulations are based on the rules governing MRT system construction standards, it said.
The objectives of the rules include standardization, modularity to ensure compatibility with future technology and materials, reduced maintenance costs, as well as encouraging domestic investment, it said.
Ergonomics would be emphasized to enhance operator safety and passengers’ experience, the bureau said.
The proposed regulations would align with the government agenda of spurring growth in the manufacturing sector, it said.
The planned blue line of the Tainan MRT, with 10 stations and one maintenance facility across 8.39km of track, would be the first part of the system the city would build, it said.
The blue line would serve the city’s densely populated Yongkang (永康), Rende (仁德) and East (東區) districts, it said, adding that officials expect to open bidding for construction contracts next year.
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