Groundbreaking ceremony for the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin metro line
President Ma Yingjiu, New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu, and Taipei City Mayor Hau Lungbin attended the joint contract signing and groundbreaking ceremony for the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin metro line of Taipei MRT at Huazhong Riverside Park in Taipei City on November 25th.
Mayor Chu said that he incidentally approved the construction project for the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin metro line last February when he served at the Executive Yuan, and he later as the New Taipei City Mayor joined with Mayor Hau for its subsequent planning. He emphasized that in the future the Xinzhuang line and the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin line will join at Huilong to form the 2nd metro ring of his proposed “3 Rings & 3 Lines” plan for MRT extension. In addition to the Minsheng-Xizhi line, passed by Ministry of Transportation and Communications on November 7th, construction of the Circular line has also fully commenced thanks to support from the New Taipei City Councilors. Mayor Chu claims that when the “3 Rings & 3 Lines” construction is completed, it will change the living perimeters in Taipei City and New Taipei City.
President Ma said he is impressed with the effort from Taipei City and cooperation from New Taipei City, as the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin line construction starts in less than just a year since the launch of Luzhou line on December 3rd last year. Among the 22.1-km route of the 2nd ring of Mayor Chu’s “3 Rings & 3 Lines” construction plan, the 1st phase of the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin metro line construction, totaling 8.8 km, will cross populous areas such as Wanhua, Zhonghe, and Yonghe, improving traffic flows in the future.
Mayor Hau stated that the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin metro line has finally entered the construction phase. The 1st-phase of the construction expects to be finished in 2018 and launched as soon as possible upon its completion
Ministry of Transportation and Communications of New Taipei City states that construction of the Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin metro line, approved by the Executive Yuan, is divided into phases. The 1st-phase construction will start at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station, continuing through Zhonghe District and Yonghe District. Once completed, it can greatly reduce traveling time from Taipei City to Zhonghe district and Yonghe district in New Taipei City. When the whole metro line construction is finished, it will be connected to the Xindian line, Tucheng line, and both the Circular line and the Xinzhuang line, which are still under construction, to make the New Taipei City MRT network more complete.
In addition to President Ma, Mayor Chu, and Mayor Hau, many legislators and New Taipei City councilors also attended the ceremony and offered their blessings.