TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- After 10 years of work, the Taichung MRT Green Line is nearing completion and started test runs on Wednesday (July 3).
Yeh Chao-fu (葉昭甫), head of the Taichung's transportation bureau announced on Wednesday that 84.23 percent of the work on 18 of the Green Line's stations has been completed, reported CNA. Yeh said that the 16.71-kilometer-long line will officially open for passengers by late 2020.
Test runs of trains on the line began on Wednesday and will operate from 6 a.m. to midnight every day, to ensure the stability of mechanical and electrical systems, and to simulate the actual operating schedule, said Yeh. He added that the seven days of testing will also include monitoring of noise, in order to best identify locations to place sound barriers along the line, and must have "zero defects," reported China Times.
(CNA image)
Yeh said that a sound insulation wall about 11 kilometers in length has already been installed on the Green Line, reported UDN. He said that the wall, combined with multiple noise reduction measures such as sound-absorbing materials attached on both sides of the track, continuous-welded rails, floating track beds, and moveable point frogs should help keep the noise down to a minimum in homes and offices near the MRT line.
The Green Line, construction of which first began in 2009, connects major transit hubs and neighborhoods in the city, such as the Taichung High-Speed Railway Station, Taichung City Hall, and Wenxin Forest Park. Once completed, the new line will traverse Taichung's districts of Beitun, Situn, and Nantun.
(Taichung City Transporation Bureau photo)
Google map of the new Taichung MRT Green Line:
