After 11 years of construction, the first section of the new Circular Line of Taipei’s metro system has officially opened as of Friday January 31. The service, running from Dapinglin to New Taipei Industrial Park via Xindian, Zhonghe, Banqiao and Xinzhuang, will be free to ride for the entirety of its first month of operation. (Read Also: Easy Does It: a Guide to Using EasyCard in Taiwan)
Also known as the Yellow Line, the new line extends Taipei’s MRT service to 131 stations across six lines, with all those stations reachable via 18 transfer stations, which should ease congestion during rush hour, according to the Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS), as reported by Focus Taiwan.
The 15.4km first section of the Yellow Line will allow passengers to commute from Dapinglin to New Taipei City without having to pass through Taipei City itself, cutting off 20 minutes from the original route. It will also be the second Taipei MRT line to be fully automated after the Wenhu Line (Brown Line).
What Stations Does it Stop at?
Stations on the newly opened section are as follows: Dapinglin (Green Line), Shisizhang, Xiulang Bridge, Jingping, Jingan (Orange Line), Zhonghe, Qiaohe, Zhongyuan, Banxin, Bangqiao (Blue Line, TRA, THSR), Xinpu Minsheng (Blue Line), Touqianzhuang (Orange Line), Xingfu and New Taipei Industrial Park (Taoyuan Airport MRT).
What Will the Future Sections be?
The under construction southern section of the line will connect Taipei Zoo to Xindian, while the northern section will go from Wugu district to Jiannan Road in Zhongshan. There are also plans for an eastern section between Zhongshan and Xinyi, which intends to include stops at Songshan, Yongchun and Xiangshan stations respectively.
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