Department of Rapid Transit Systems

Regarding media coverage that councilors expressed doubts about poor implementation of the government’s promotion of the Wanda line Phase I construction and Circular line east section planning, Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) clarified that Taipei City Government is continuing to actively promote Taipei Metropolitan Area MRT network planning and construction. Furthermore, they anticipate that local people from all walks of life will be able to join together to collectively support major transportation construction to enable Taipei Metropolitan Area to become a more livable and continually developing city.
DORTS stated that the Taipei MRT Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin line previously has encountered resistance and delays due to urban planning revisions and land acquisition tasks. Mayor Ko Wen-je has actively handled these issues since taking office and strengthened communication and coordination in order to successfully resolve them. Since 2017, contract awarding has been completed for (a total of seven) civil construction projects; furthermore, the signing of EMS contracts was completed on July 10, 2018. Construction is currently fully underway, and it is expected to be completed in 2025 with promising prospects.
DORTS emphasized that the Circular line is being actively promoted by Major Ko Wen-je, and this includes the Circular line Phase I, Circular line north section & south section, and Circular line east section, with Circular line Phase I set to commence operations later this year. Through the hard work of the city government, comprehensive planning for the Circular line north section & south section was incorporated in the Executive Yuan’s special budget for the second phase of Forward-looking Infrastructure project in August 2018. On January 7, 2019, Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) convened a committee meeting to review the integrated planning report, and following review and approval by the Executive Yuan it will enter the statutory construction stage, and the overall project budget will be prepared. If this is smoothly completed, construction contract operations are expected to be carried out in the late 2020 with more rapid efficiency than for other projects.
DORTS further stated that after Mayor Ko Wen-je took office, in response to the development requirements of the eastern corridor and to solve traffic problems in Neihu, the Circular line east section is being actively researched. In addition to linking the Wenhu line, Songshan line, Bannan line, and Xinyi line, it will also be able to provide interchange transfer services with each connecting station. In the future, after linking with Circular line north section & south section, it will form a Metropolitan Circular line which traverses Taipei City and New Taipei City and provides transfer services between all of the MRT lines in order to construct and improve the overall MRT network and improve the overall efficiency of the Taipei Metropolitan Area MRT. To date, the feasibility study report has been completed for the Circular line east section, and preliminary planning has been completed for suggested and alternative routes and stations, and the report was submitted to MOTC for review on November 7, 2018. Currently, the expenses related to follow-up comprehensive planning, the environmental impact assessment, and urban planning revision diagrams have been budgeted, and also already approved by Taipei City Council, thus, relevant planning works set to commence this year to enable Circular line east section to catch up with the progress of the Circular line north section & south section.