Taipei Metro (also known as Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and branded as Metro Taipei) is a rapid transit system operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation serving the capital Taipei and New Taipei City in Taiwan.
It was the first rapid transit system to be built on the island. The initial network was approved for construction in 1986, and work began two years later. It began operations on 28 March 1996, and by 2000, 62 stations were in service across three main lines.
Over the next nine years, the number of passengers had increased by 70%. Since 2008, the network has expanded to 131 stations and the passenger count has grown by another 96%. The system has been praised by locals for its effectiveness in relieving growing traffic congestion in Taipei and its surrounding satellite towns, with over two million trips made daily.
History
Proposal and construction
The idea of constructing a rapid transit system on the island was first put forth at a press conference on 28 June 1968, where the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced its plans to begin researching the possibility of constructing such a network in the Taipei metropolitan area; however, the plan was shelved due to financial concerns and the belief that such a system was not urgently needed at the time. With the increase of traffic congestion accompanying economic growth in the 1970s, the need for a rapid transit system became more pressing. In February 1977, the Institute of Transportation (IOT) of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) released a preliminary rapid transport system report, with the designs of five lines: U1, U2, U3, S1, and S2, to form a rough sketch of the planned corridors, some of which would be converted from single-tracked Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) branch lines, resulting in the first rapid transit system plan for Taipei.
In 1981, the IOT invited British Mass Transit Consultants (BMTC) and China Engineering Consultants, Inc. to form a team and provide in-depth research on the preliminary report. In 1982, the Taipei City Government commissioned National Chiao Tung University to do a research and feasibility study on medium-capacity rapid transit systems. In January 1984, the university proposed an initial design for a medium-capacity rapid transit system in Taipei City, including plans for the Wenhu line and the Tamsui–Xinyi line. The pre-1985 plans would have retained the 3 ft 6 in gauge of the TRA lines and the rolling stock design would have conformed to TRA and Japanese narrow-gauge standards. On 1 March 1985, the Executive Yuan Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) signed a treaty with the Taipei Transit Council (TTC), composed of three American consultant firms, to conduct overall research on a rapid transit system in Taipei. Apart from adjustments made to the initial proposal, such as the move to standard gauge track and wider and longer rolling stock for the high-capacity lines, Wenhu line was also included into the network. In 1986, the initial network design of the Taipei Metro by the CEPD was passed by the Executive Yuan, although the network corridors were not set yet. A budget of NT$441.7 billion was allocated for the project.
On 27 June 1986, the Preparatory Office of Rapid Transit Systems was created, which on 23 February 1987 was formally established as the Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) for handling, planning, designing, and constructing the system. Apart from preparing for the construction of the metro system, DORTS also made small changes to the metro corridor. The six lines proposed on the initial network were: Tamsui line and Xindian line (Lines U1 and U2), Zhonghe Line (Line U3), Nangang Line and Banqiao Line (Line S1), and Muzha line (now Wenhu line), totaling 79 stations and 76.8 km (47.7 mi) route length, including 34.4 km (21.4 mi) of elevated rail, 9.5 km (5.9 mi) at ground level, and 44.2 km (27.5 mi) underground. The Neihu Line corridor was approved in 1990. On 27 June 1994, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) was formed to oversee the operation of the Taipei Metro system.
The Executive Yuan approved the initial network plan for the system on 27 May 1986. Construction began on 15 December 1988. The growing traffic problems of the time, compounded by road closures due to TRTS construction led to what became popularly known as the "dark age of Taipei traffic". The TRTS was the center of political controversy during its construction and shortly after the opening of its first line in 1996 due to incidents such as computer malfunction during a thunderstorm, alleged structural problems in some elevated segments, budget overruns, and fare prices.
Opening and initial network
The system opened on 28 March 1996, with the 10.5 km (6.5 mi) elevated Wenhu line, a driverless, medium-capacity line with twelve stations running from Zhongshan Junior High School to Taipei Zoo. The first high-capacity line, the Tamsui–Xinyi line, began service on 28 March 1997, running from Tamsui to Zhongshan, then extended to Taipei Main Station at the end of the year. On 23 December 1998, the system passed the milestone of 100 million passengers.
1999–2006 expansions
On 24 December 1999, a section of the Bannan line was opened between Longshan Temple and Taipei City Hall. This section became the first east–west line running through the city, connecting the two previously completed north–south lines. On 31 May 2006, the second stage of the Banqiao–Nangang section and the Tucheng section began operation. The service was then named Bannan after the districts that it connects (Banqiao and Nangang).
Maokong Gondola
On 4 July 2007, the Maokong Gondola, a new aerial lift/cable-car system, was opened to the public. The system connects the Taipei Zoo, Zhinan Temple, and Maokong. Service was suspended on 1 October 2008 due to erosion from mudslides under a support pillar following Typhoon Jangmi. The gondola officially resumed service as of 31 March 2010, after relocation of the pillar and passing safety inspections.
2009–2014 expansions
On 4 July 2009, with the opening of the Neihu segment of Wenhu line, the last of the six core segments was completed. Due to debate on whether to construct a medium-capacity or high-capacity line, construction of the line did not begin until 2002.
Zhonghe–Xinlu line was extended from Guting to Luzhou and Huilong in 2012. The Xinyi section of Tamsui–Xinyi line and Songshan section of Songshan–Xindian line were opened on 24 November 2013 and 15 November 2014 respectively.
Prior to 2014, only physical lines had official names; services did not. In 2008, all full-run and short-turn services were referred to by termini while Bannan and Wenhu services were referred to by the physical lines on which they operated.
Following the completion of the core sections of the system in 2014, the naming scheme for services was set and 'lines' started to refer to services. Between 2014 and 2016, lines were given alternative number names based on the order of the dates the lines first opened. Brown, Red, Green, Orange and Blue lines were named lines 1 to 5 respectively. The planned Circular, Wanda–Shulin and Minsheng–Xizhi lines were to be lines 6 to 8 respectively. In 2016, the number names were replaced by colour names. Today, on-board announcements in Chinese use full official names, whereas in English, colour names are used instead.
In June 2023, due to an increasing number of South Korean tourists, the metro announced the addition of Korean announcements at stations where there are high amounts of tourists.
On 3 April 2024, following a magnitude 7 earthquake hitting the island, all active MRT trains were suspended for safety checks to be conducted. All Taipei Metro routes resumed operations later that day.
Lines
The system is designed based on the spoke-hub distribution paradigm, with most rail lines running radially outward from central Taipei. The MRT system operates daily from 06:00 to 00:00 the following day (the last trains finish their runs by 01:00), with extended services during special events (such as New Year festivities). Trains operate at intervals of 1:30 to 15 minutes depending on the line and time of day. Smoking is forbidden in the entire metro system, while eating, drinking, and chewing gum and betel nuts are forbidden within the paid area.
Stations can become extremely crowded during rush hours, especially at transfer stations such as Taipei Main Station, Zhongxiao Fuxing, and Minquan West Road. Automated station announcements are recorded in Mandarin, English, Taiwanese, and Hakka, with Japanese at busy stations. Japanese coverage across the network was expanded on 24 August 2023. Select stations also received Korean announcements to accommodate for the high influx of South Korean tourists to the capital. Subsequently, announcement order was changed to Mandarin, English, Japanese, Korean, then Taiwanese and Hakka.
Fares and tickets
Fares range between NT$20–65 per trip as of 2018. RFID single-journey tokens and rechargeable IC cards (such as the EasyCard and the iPASS), as well as NFC-based mobile payments (only Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet), are used to collect fares for day-to-day use.
Discounts and concessions
A 20% discount was given to all IC card users, but it was cancelled at the start of February 2020. The discount program was instead switched to an intensity-based scheme. The more times passengers take the MRT, the higher the level of discount they could receive. From February 2020 until February 2025, the following rebate scheme was used: 10% discount for 11–20 rides; 15% discount for 21-30 rides; 20% discount for 31–40 rides; 25% discount for 41-50 rides; and 30% off for more than 50 rides. Effective March 2025, the rebate scheme was modified as follows: 5% discount for 11–20 rides; 10% discount for 21–40 rides; and 15% off for more than 40 rides. The discount is considered a rebate and the rebate from a previous month is deposited to the user's card on the first ride of each month; the rebate must be collected within 6 months. Those with welfare cards issued by local governments could receive 60% off per ride. Children aged 6 or over pay adult fares. Other ticket types include passes, joint tickets with other services and tickets for groups, and discounts for YouBike rentals at the Taipei Main Station.
Ticketing system
Turnstiles of Taipei Metro are being replaced by the end of 2025 to enable contactless, QR code and mobile wallet payments such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
Infrastructure
The Taipei Metro provides an obstacle-free environment within the entire system; all stations and trains are handicap accessible. Features include accessible restrooms, ramps and elevators for wheelchairs and strollers, tactile guide paths, extra-wide faregates, and trains with a designated wheelchair area.
Beginning in September 2003, the English names for Taipei Metro stations were converted to use Hanyu pinyin before the end of December, with brackets for Tongyong Pinyin names for signs shown at station entrances and exits. However, after the conversion, many stations were reported to have multiple conflicting English station names caused by inconsistent conversions, even for stations built after enactment of the new naming policy. The information brochures (臺北市大眾捷運系統捷運站轉乘公車資訊手冊) printed in September 2004 still used Wade–Giles romanizations. The updated names were actually poorly romanized for some stations (notably Daan and Qilian, formerly Ta'An and Chili An respectively), as they lack an apostrophe or other separator between ambiguous syllables as recommended in Hanyu Pinyin.
To accommodate increasing passenger numbers, all metro stations have replaced turnstiles with speed gates since 2007, and single-journey magnetic cards have been replaced by RFID tokens.
TRTS provides free mobile phone connections in all stations, trains, and tunnels and also provides WiFi WLAN connections at several station hotspots. The world's first WiMAX-service metro trains were introduced on the Wenhu line in 2007, allowing passengers to access the internet and watch live broadcasts. Several stations are also equipped with mobile charging stations.
Platforms
Most underground stations have island platform configurations while a few have side platform configurations. Most elevated and at-grade stations have side platform configurations, while a few have island platform configurations. All high-capacity metro stations have a 150 m (490 ft) long platform to accommodate all six-train cars on a typical metro train (with the exception of Xiaobitan). The width of the platform and concourse depends on the volume of transit; the largest stations include Taipei Main Station, Taipei City Hall, and Ximen. Some other transfer stations, including Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Guting, and Songjiang Nanjing, also have wide platforms.
Several stations have a cross-platform interchange: Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Guting, Dongmen and Ximen. Both lines' tracks in one direction use the lower floor, while both lines' tracks in the other direction use the upper floor. Dongmen station is unique in that the directions of travel on each floor are reversed, so that there's a cross-platform interchange when travelling between the city center and the suburbs.
Each station is equipped with LED displays and LCD TVs both in the concourse and on the platforms which display the time of arrival of the next train. At all stations, red lights on or above automatic platform gates at stations flash prior to a train arrival to alert passengers and an arrival melody would play (except on the Wenhu line and certain elevated and at-grade stations). Similarly, before platform screen doors were retrofitted, stations would have lights on the edges of platforms which would flash upon a train's arrival. This can still be seen on other metro systems such as the Washington Metro.
As of September 2018, all stations have automatic platform gates. Before 2018, all the stations on the Wenhu line and most stations on the Zhonghe–Xinlu line, as well as a few stations on other lines, were equipped with platform screen doors. A track intrusion detection system has been installed to improve passenger safety at stations without platform doors. The system uses infrared and radio detectors to monitor unusual movement in the track area.
Signalling
When the Muzha Line first opened in 1996, the line was initially equipped with automatic train operation (ATO) and automatic train control (ATC), which in turn comprised automatic train protection (ATP) and automatic train supervision (ATS); in particular the ATP relied on transmission coils and wayside control units whereas the ATO relied on dwell operation control units. The transmission coils are controlled by the Control Centre to ensure safety of the line and were positioned on the guideway. Among such coils included the PD loop, safety frequency loop, stopping program loop, vehicle station link and station vehicle link; these loops were cross-arranged to produce electromagnetic induction with the interval between two cross points being 0.3 seconds to both monitor the train and control its speed. However this fixed-block ATC system used on the Muzha Line was plagued with problems in its early years of operation and was replaced with the new moving-block Cityflo 650 CBTC that was supplied by Bombardier Transportation of Canada for the Neihu Line.
On the other hand, the heavy-capacity lines use the traditional fixed block system design, which were initially supplied by General Railway Signal of Rochester, New York, for the Tamsui, Xindian, Zhonghe, and Bannan lines; and later by Alstom for the Tucheng, Xinzhuang, Luzhou, Xinyi and Songshan lines. Key components of the system include impedance bond, 4-foot loops, marker coils, alignment antennae and two-aspect light signals for the wayside as well as automatic train supervision which utilises centralized traffic control.
Public art
In the initial network, important stations such as transfer stations, terminal stations, and stations with heavy passenger flow were chosen for the installation of public art. The principles behind the locations of public art were visual focus and non-interference with passenger circulation and construction schedules. The artworks included murals, children's mosaic collages, sculptures, hung forms, spatial art, interactive art, and window displays. The selection methods included open competitions, invitational competitions, direct assignments, and cooperation with children.
Stations with public art displays include Shuanglian, NTU Hospital, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Guting, Gongguan, Xindian, Xiaobitan, Dingxi, Nanshijiao, Taipei City Hall, Kunyang, Songshan Airport, Nangang, Haishan, and Tucheng. Stations with art galleries include Zhongshan, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Zhongxiao Fuxing, and Taipei Main Station. Beimen station contains a small archeological museum.
Other facilities
In addition to the rapid transit system itself, Taipei Metro operates several public facilities such as underground shopping malls, parks, and public squares in and around stations, including:
Zhongshan Metro Mall: Shuanglian – Zhongshan – Taipei Main Station (815 m, 81 shops)
Taipei main station underground mall: on floor B1 of the station
Taipei New World Shopping Center: Between the metro and TRA sections of Taipei Station.
Station front metro mall: West of Taipei main station, beneath Zhongxiao W Road
Taipei City Mall: Northwest of Taipei main station, beneath Zhengzhou Rd and Civic Blvd
East Metro Mall: Between Zhongxiao Fuxing and Zhongxiao Dunhua (825 m, 35 shops)
Ximen Underground Mall: north of Ximen (currently used as an office building and library)
Longshan Temple Underground Mall: Longshan Temple north and south sides
Global Mall: Banqiao floors B1 to 2F
As of 2022, there were 229 shops within the stations themselves.
Transit
Transfers to city bus stations are available at all metro stations. In 2009, transfer volume between the metro and bus systems reached 444,100 transfers per day (counting only EasyCard users). Connections to Taiwan Railway Administration and Taiwan High Speed Rail trains are available at Taipei Main Station, Banqiao and Nangang. Connections to Taipei Bus Station and Taipei City Hall Bus Station are available at Taipei Main Station and Taipei City Hall stations, respectively. The Maokong Gondola is accessible from Taipei Zoo.