Department of Rapid Transit Systems

Recently, DORTS held a poll campaign to select an exterior painting for the EMUs on the Wanda line, where there were six candidates. The poll closed with over 110,000 votes entered. On May 27, Taipei City's deputy mayor, Pong Cheng-sheng, announced the poll's result via a live-streamed media press release. The winning exterior painting garnered 33,129 votes, accounting for 30% of the total. According to DORTS, the winner painting, "Vitality," consists of blue lines mimicking waves, manifesting the Wanda line's green hills and clear waters. The third in the poll, "Bravery," which garnered 17,361 votes, is what mayor Ko voted for.

In his speech, Pong described the Wanda line as an important construction project for Taipei City and New Taipei City and a key to Taipei City's future development. The Wanda line is a booster for revitalizing Wanhua District as well as a symbol of city transformation. According to DORTS's statement, the poll campaign attracted 110,420 votes in total, pushing the number of views of the campaign website to over 870,000. The poll voters, which had a female to male ratio of 6:4, were mainly locals and were interested in shopping, dining, and keeping up with current affairs.

The winner, "Vitality," which was designed based on flowing water, symbolizes Xindian River and Dahan River along the Wanda line. The campaign participants picked it out from the six candidates as their favorite, and it will become a part of their daily lives in the future.

The EMUs on the Wanda line are designed and manufactured by a French company, Alstom, for heavy rail rapid transit. Each train consists of four coaches, with a total capacity of 700 passengers, and is installed with wireless communication and signal technology for driverless operations. The trains have a streamlined look; furthermore, they also have a full-view windshield at the front, as their emergency exits, which enables their passengers to enjoy a bright and unobstructed view. Gangways are also included in the design to enable the trains' passengers to move between coaches. In addition, shock absorption wheels will be installed on the trains in order to facilitate a smooth ride. The trains are scheduled to be shipped to Taiwan in 2023.

DORTS held a press conference to announce the campaign's result on May 27. At the event, DORTS revealed the winning painting and drew 150 names from the poll's participants in a live-streaming show. The prizes are as follows: first prize - an APPLE Macbook 13, second prize - a noise cancellation headset from SONY, and third prize - an Apple Watch. In addition, DORTS announced the winners of 50 USB disks which were designed based on the Wanda line's EMUs. The total value of the prizes exceeds NTD 150,000.

As a gesture of gratitude to the series of events' supporters, DORTS prepared 50 themed EasyCards that have a semi-transparent look and are designed based on plants representing each of the stations on the Wanda line. After the live-streaming show, with a lawyer as witness, 50 lucky winners were drawn from the participants who tagged themselves with the themed showcase areas during the event period.

DORTS said all of winners' names are to be made public on the Wanda line's official event website, in order to allow participants to check whether or not they are the lucky winners. Those whose names are on the lucky list must fill in the requested forms and submit them no later than June 7. DORTS will subsequently send out the prizes to the winners according to the information collected from the forms.

As a supplement from DORTS, this series of events related to the Wanda line is rich and versatile in its content. During the polling period, there were themed showcase areas set up at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station Exit No.7 and Zhonghe Station Exits/Entrances in order to introduce background information about the Wanda line to the public. This event was promoted by placing cardboard cut-outs and releasing specially-made masks of Mr. Nien-hsien Ma, the event ambassador, and it attracted many of his fans to take photos and tag themselves. Furthermore, the parent-child Lego building camp provided opportunities to its young participants to learn about the MRT. During the camp, the children had great fun and left the event wanting more.

In a further statement, DORTS explained that one highly anticipated event in the series, the "Open Box," was cancelled due to the pandemic. As an alternative, those who registered for the "Open Box" will receive a souvenir as a thank you for their support.

The construction progress of Wanda line Phase I is 54.56%, and it is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Moreover, Phase II of the same line is scheduled to be completed in 2028. These two constructions will save passengers' time and money while traveling in Zhongzheng District, Wanhua District, Zhonghe District, Yonghe District, and Tucheng District. In the future, the Wanda line will connect with the Circular line, the Bannan line, and the Zhonghe-Xinzhuang-Luzhou line to promote urban development and renewal and to facilitate balanced regional development by forming multiple centers of development. At that time, citizens of the Greater Taipei Area will be able to appreciate the realization of the Great Taipei Area living circle by enjoying the substantially improved accessibility provided by the Taipei MRT.