The Red line is a metro line of

Kaohsiung Metro Kaohsiung Metro () is a rapid transit and light rail system covering the metropolitan area of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its rapid transit network is known as Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System or Kaohsiung Rapid Transit (KRT). Construction of the MRT ...

which runs north–south through the city of

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

, Taiwan. At , it is the fourth-longest metro line in

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 ...

, after

Taoyuan Airport MRT Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), commonly known as the Airport MRT, is a rapid transit line of the Taoyuan Metro that connects Taipei, Taoyuan and New Taipei with Taoyuan International Airport in northern Taiwan. ...

, Tamsui-Xinyi Line and Zhonghe-Xinlu Line. There is a plan to extend the line north to

Hunei District Hunei District () is a rural district in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. History After the handover of Taiwan from Japan to the Republic of China in 1945, Hunei was organized as a rural township of Kaohsiung County. On 25 December 2010, Kaohsiung C ...

. This would add 8 stations to the line.

History

In the “1988 Kaohsiung Metropolitan Metro System Feasibility Study”, the Red line was amongst the four lines planned. In January 1991, it was one of the two lines categorised to open as Phase 1 in period 1. Further progress was halted in March 1995 due to skepticism for the need of it within the city council, citing traffic congestion within the city to be not critical. In June 1998, the

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revived the plans under the BOT initiative. Together with the approval from relevant city councils, the metro department began conducting feasibility studies of the Red Line in February 1999. Three months later, priority was given to China Steel Corporation and Siemens on construction contracts. The contracts were finalised in January 2000. On 24 October 2001, ground works were initiated at the Siaogang station site. The first phase from Siaogang station to Sanduo Shopping District station had its machinery and tunneling works completed in November 2006. Test riders were invited for operational trial for this milestone. By February 2008, most of the construction had been completed. At this stage, a soft opening was launched with free rides in the first phase. The entire line from Siaogang to Ciaotou stations opened on 9 March 2008, and was free to commuters until 7 April the same year. It opened for service on 9 March 2008 and was free for one month until 6 April. The new EMUs for the six expanded stations will be manufactured by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Hyundai Rotem Hyundai Rotem Company, often referred to as Hyundai Rotem (), is a South Korean manufacturer of railway rolling stock, railway signalling, defense products and plant equipment. It is a member of Hyundai Motor Group and has presence in more than ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

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Stations

;Notes * A ^ The full name is National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology. * B ^ The full name is National Kaohsiung Marine University. * C ^ The full name is Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation.

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{authority control Kaohsiung Metro lines 2008 establishments in Taiwan Railway lines opened in 2008 Airport rail links in Taiwan Standard-gauge railways in Taiwan 750 V DC railway electrification