TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Contracts were awarded to construct a new MRT line to connect Taipei's Donghu Station to New Taipei’s Xizhi Station, expected to be completed in early 2032.

New Taipei’s MRT bureau said on Tuesday (Oct. 22) that the contracts were given to Malaysia’s Gamud Berhad and Taiwan’s Dongpi Construction Company and MiTAC Information Technology, per CNA. The bureau said construction will begin in 2025 and finish seven years later.

Bureau director Li Cheng-an (李政安) said the new route will depart MRT Donghu Station and follow the path of National Freeway 1 until it heads south through central Xizhi towards National Freeway 3, terminating at Xizhi District Office. Li said the 5.56-kilometer-long line will be split between Taipei (0.81 km) and New Taipei (4.75 km) and feature six elevated stations.

Li said preparatory work began in late 2023 and is progressing according to schedule. A project to relocate water pipes along the route has reached 90% completion, and planning is underway to widen Xizhi’s Jilin Road.

The bureau’s deputy director Cheng Chih-ming (鄭智銘) said an approximately 200-meter transfer will be required between MRT Donghu Station and the beginning of the new line. Cheng said an air bridge and escalators will be installed for convenience.

The new line will eventually become part of the planned Xizhi-Minsheng Line, connecting Keelung to Taipei’s Dadaocheng in Datong District. Cheng said that although the Keelung, Donghu-Xizhi, and Minsheng sections appear to be three different projects, they will be built to the same specifications and regarded as one line.

Cheng said the lines will be built according to the transport ministry’s standards for light rail rapid transit (LRRT), and each train on the line will carry at least 530 passengers. According to the transport ministry, LRRT systems are expected to carry between 2,000 to 25,000 passengers per hour in each direction.