Department of Rapid Transit Systems

Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an in the morning on March 6 presided over the Wanda line Phase I Section Contract CQ850A Kalah Station shield tunnel breakthrough ceremony. In his speech Mayor Chiang mentioned that on that day it was the first time that he had entered an MRT construction area since taking office. Upon entering the working shaft of the underground work area at Yong Ping Elementary School Station in Yonghe District, New Taipei City with a depth of 26 meters, in addition to getting a feeling for the hardships of the MRT construction project, he also highly praised the outstanding construction quality of the MRT team. Taipei City DORTS stated that the mayor instructed them to do their best to obtain approval from the central government for Circular line east section and after obtaining approval to commence construction within two years. 

DORTS Second District Project Office (2^nd DPO) stated that the overall construction progress of Wanda line Phase I construction has reached nearly 65%. Mayor Chiang on March 6^th entered the 26-meter-deep station from the working shaft at Yong Ping Elementary School Station (LG05) and then walked to the arrival end of the shield machine for the unveiling ceremony of the shield machine’s disk cutter for the completion of the 1,706-meter-long tunnel. 2^nd DPO pointed out that the shield machine had been excavating underground across the Xindian River for a year and a half, and following the completion of the river tunnel project, the machine will be dismantled and removed. Operations on the project will continue to be implemented, such as expanding the excavation for the structure of the inverted arch and the horizontal pit of the connecting passage. 

2^nd DPO stated that for the penetration of the shield tunnel on this occasion, the shield tunnel machine was sent down from the work shaft at Wanda Rd. Dongyuan St. and across the embankment of Shuiyuan Expressway and the bottom of the Xindian River to Yong Ping Elementary School Station (LG05). With a total length of 1,706 meters, the down-track tunnel was completed in September of last year, and after overcoming multiple challenges, the up-track tunnel arrived smoothly on January 14. 2^nd DPO further elaborated that a total of nine shield tunnel machines had been activated for Wanda line Phase I construction to complete 12,841 meters of shield tunnels. Currently 11,839 meters have already been completed, and it is expected to be fully completed in January 2024.

2^nd DPO further explained that the route of Wanda line Phase I construction runs from the Taipei City section at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station (LG01) across the following two administrative districts: Zhongzheng District and Wanhua District to Yong Ping Elementary School Station (LG05) in New Taipei City, with a total of five underground stations. 2^nd DPO also stated that the architectural modeling and public art themes of Wanda line Phase I stations are “green” and “rhythm;” furthermore, each station has its own characteristic theme and representative plant. For instance, the theme of Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station (LG01) is “Taipei Ukiyo-e”, and the representative plant is the camphor tree; for Taipei Botanical Garden Station (LG02) the theme is “Remembering the Lotus of Taipei;” for Xiaan Station (LG03) it is “Yellow Water Lily of Lohas Taipei;” for Kalah Station (LG04) it is “Colorful Fruit and Vegetable Rhapsody of the Three Treasures of Kalah;” and for Yong Ping Elementary School Station (LG05), the “Sunlight Lighting of the Plant Greenery Wall” was selected. Each station has its own local characteristics in the belief that passengers will have refreshing experiences in the station halls when boarding. 

2^nd DPO further stated that when Mayor Chiang inspected and experienced the impact of the fences along the MRT lines on traffic, in addition to ordering the department to minimize or remove the fences as soon as possible, he also specially thanked the residents living along the Wanda line during the construction period for their full support despite the inconvenient impacts on their lifestyles and transportation. The city government will also subsequently accelerate the promotion of Taipei Metropolitan Area MRT project construction and serving the wider public.

DORTS explained that after Wanda line Phase I is opened for operations it will be possible to connect and transfer with the Songshan-Xindian line and the Tamsui-Xinyi line at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station. In addition, initial work has also commenced on a portion of the route sections for Phase II, and in future it will also be possible to connect with the Zhonghe’s Xinlu line. This will alleviate traffic congestion on the Huazhong Bridge and the Fuzhou Bridge and satisfy the travel requirements of Wanhua District in Taipei City and Zhonghe, Tucheng, and Shulin districts in New Taipei City while also providing the public with more convenient transportation services.