The Danhai light rail (, also known as Tamhai light rail) is a

light rail transit Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

(LRT) line in Tamsui District, New Taipei City,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It opened on 23 December 2018 and began service the following day.

History

The system is built to provide public transportation to

Danhai New Town Danhai New Town (), previously romanized as Tamhai New Town, is a large residential development in Tamsui District, New Taipei, Taiwan. It was first proposed as a new town in 1992. The project aims to create a town using 17.56 km2 of land north ...

, whose population is expected to reach 340,000 by 2041. The initial feasibility study for a heavy-capacity extension line of the

Taipei Metro 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 rapi ...

was completed in 1992. Further planning reports were completed in 1998 and 1999. At that time the project was put on hold due to budgetary considerations. In 2005, planning shifted from a metro system to a light rail system. A light rail feasibility study was completed in 2007, with a review of funding and operation throughout 2008. The study was completed and presented for approval to the

Executive Yuan The Executive Yuan () is the executive (government), executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China, amended constitution, the head of the Execut ...

in 2010. The light rail two-stage construction plan by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications was approved by

Council for Economic Planning and Development A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

on 7 January 2013. The first phase of the construction began in September 2014. The system is projected to carry 120,000 passengers per day.

Route

The system currently consists of 14 stations, with 6 additional stations planned.. Tracks are at ground level and elevated. The total length will be . The Hongshulin–Kanding section opened in December 2018. Trains run from Station northward and turn west along Zhongzheng East Road, Highway No. 2, Binhai Road and Shalun Road. Seven of its eleven stations are elevated, with the remaining four at ground level. The bike sharing service

YouBike YouBike (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 微笑單車; pinyin: ''Wéixiào Dānchē''), originally Taipei Bike Sharing System, is a public bicycle sharing system, bicycle sharing service offered by the Taipei City Government, Taipei Ci ...

is available at seven stations. A branch with three stations opened in November 2020. The branch runs from , turns eastward to join the Kanding branch, with which it shares and three stops. The line follows Highway No. 2B, Binhai Road, and Shalun Road. All nine stations will be at ground level.

Stations

In operation

* Operation Services ** G1 - Bound for Kanding ** G2 - Bound for Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf

Planned

Mackay Street was originally planned as two one-way stations, but now that plan has changed due to the strong opposition of the residents in Tamsui Old Street.

Network map

Rolling stock

The cars were built in Taiwan by the Taiwan Rolling Stock Company under the first program to domestically build light rail vehicles. The company partnered with the German firm Voith Engineering Services on the design of the cars. Final assembly and the manufacturing of many components were done in Taiwan. Through this project, Taiwan seeks to lessen its dependence on foreign manufacturers for rail systems. Each of the 15 bi-directional

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

is long and can carry up to 265 passengers. They are designed with electrical onboard storage capacity so that they can travel short distances under their power; this feature allows simplification of the overhead power cabling by eliminating the need to run the power cables across major intersections. The prototype was scheduled to be ready in 2016, with all 15 cars to be delivered by the end of 2017.

Budget

The light rail was expected to cost NT$15.31 billion, in which NT$1.67 billion will be provided by the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

, NT$7.09 billion by Construction and Planning Agency and NT$6.55 billion by New Taipei City Government when it was approved in 2013. The current estimate is NT$31.357 billion.

Construction

The project is divided into two phases. The first phase is the 11-station Green Mountain Line and part of the Blue Coast Line comprising three stations, totaling and the depot. The whole first phase costs NT$12.8 billion. Work began in September 2014 and as of May 2016 is approximately one-third complete. With the opening of the Green Mountain Line, the first phase of the Danhai light rail is almost completed. The other three stations along the Blue Coast Line will be completed later. The second phase completes the remaining and six more stations of the Blue Coast Line. Its planned completion is in 2024. The line is being developed by China Steel Corporation and subsidiaries United Steel Engineering & Construction Corporation and Taiwan Rolling Stock Company. Other contractors are

Thales Rail Signalling Solutions Thales Rail Signalling Solutions was a division of Thales Group that supplies transportation-based automation solutions for railways. Its operations are controlled from several locations: *its head office in Paris, France *its railway business div ...

for signalling, communications, and control equipment, CTCI Corporation for track work,

Pandrol Pandrol is a global railway infrastructure equipment and technology company. It is presently a member of the Delachaux Group and based in Colombes, France and has 1,700 employees globally in over 40 locations. Pandrol has sold its various prod ...

for track, maintenance, and safety equipment, TÜV Rheinland for testing, and ABB for electrical equipment.

Extension

The Danjiang Bridge over the mouth of the Tamsui River on the

Taiwan strait The Taiwan Strait is a strait separating the island of Taiwan and the Asian continent. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. Names Former names of the Tai ...

is under construction to accommodate an extension of the Danhai LRT over the river to connect the town of

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

References

External links

{{Authority control Railway lines opened in 2018 New Taipei Metro