Green line (Taichung Metro)

The Green line is a medium-capacity rapid transit line in Taichung as part of Taichung Metro.^[1][2] The line was briefly opened to the public on 16 November 2020, but closed on 22 November due to faulty couplers on the trains.^[3] The line officially re-entered service on 25 April 2021, becoming Taiwan's fifth rapid transit system in operation.^[4] Two extensions, one heading east to Dakeng and the other reaching south into Changhua, are also planned.^[5][6]

Green line
A train running on the Green line. The surrounding noise barriers are installed for much of the line's length.
Overview
Other name(s)	Line 1
Native name	臺中捷運綠線
Locale	Taichung, Taiwan
Termini	Beitun Main HSR Taichung station
Stations	18 in operation 7 planned
Service
Type	Medium capacity rapid transit
Depot(s)	Beitun Depot
Rolling stock	18 two-car fully automated trains
History
Opened	25 April 2021 (2021-04-25)
Technical
Line length	16.71 km (10.4 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Character	Elevated
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	750 V DC third rail
Operating speed	75 km/h (47 mph)
Signalling	Alstom Urbalis 400 moving block CBTC ATC under ATO GoA 4 (UTO), with subsystems of ATP, Iconis ATS and Smartlock CBI
Route map Legend 101 Yuanshan New Village planning 102 Jungongliao planning Provincial Highway 74 Han River Beitun Depot 103a Beitun Main 103 Jiushe TRA Songzhu ( Taichung line ) 104 Songzhu 105 Sihwei Elementary School Liu River 106 Wenxin Chongde Mei River ( Taichung Airport MRT planning ) 107 Wenxin Zhongqing Mayuanto Creek 108 Wenhua Senior High School 109 Wenxin Yinghua ( Blue Line ) 110 Taichung City Hall Fengshujiao Creek 111 Shui-an Temple 112 Wenxin Forest Park 113 Nantun 114 Feng-le Park ( TRA Taichung Line ) 115 Daqing Taichung TRA elevated track planning 116 Jiuzhangli 117 Jiude Tuku Creek Fengshujiao Creek 118 Wuri TRA Wuri Taichung TRA elevated track planning Provincial Highway 74 Fazi Creek Taichung ( Taiwan High Speed Rail ) 119 HSR Taichung Station; TRA Xinwuri 120 Chenggongling planning TRA Chenggong 121 Xialaoxu planning ( TRA Chengzhui line) Wu Creek； Taichung City Changhua County ( TRA Western Trunk line) National Freeway 3 122 Duchuantou planning Daduxi Stop Changhua TRA elevated track planning 123 Kulingjiao planning Jinma Road Bridge 124 Jinma planning (TRA Western Trunk line planning ) This diagram: view talk edit

Route overview

Trains at Beitun Depot

The current line is known as the Wuri-Wenxin-Beitun Line (烏日文心北屯線). It begins in Beitun District at Beitun Main Station and runs westward, crossing the TRA Taichung Line at Songzhu station. Then, it follows Wenxin Road along Taichung's 7th Redevelopment Zone, passing through Xitun and Nantun districts and forming a wide semicircle around the city center. At Daqing station, the line runs parallel to the TRA Taichung Line until its western terminus at Taichung HSR Station in Wuri. The line is fully elevated except for small sections at both termini.^[7]

Planned extensions

There are two planned extensions to the line. The first, known as the Dakeng Extension, branches east from Jiushe station and runs along Songzhu Road to the base of Dakeng. The second, known as the Changhua Extension, runs west past Taichung HSR Station and crosses the Dadu River to Changhua. The extensions add two and five more stations respectively, and will cost an additional $25 billion NTD.^[5][6]

History

Planning and construction

President Tsai Ing-wen inspecting the new trains

A metro system in Taichung was discussed since 1990, which would connect various suburbs including Caotun, Zhongxing New Village, and others. The plan was dropped due to high cost and low projected ridership. A new proposal was renewed and approved in 2004, but construction did not begin immediately because of costs exceeding estimates and disagreements over where stations would be.^[8][9][10]

In 2010, preliminary work began by relocating trees on the median and rerouting the utilities that run under those roads.^[11] Progress was plagued by various delays, including conflicts between the city and electrical contractors, problems with land acquisition, and the bankruptcy of a major utilities contractor. Because of the delays, mayor Jason Hu and his administration were heavily criticized by rivaling political parties.^[12][13]

Formal construction began in May 2013.^[14][15] Two separate incidents occurred during construction. On 19 August 2014, a crane malfunctioned and broke off its arm, falling on top of a restaurant. No injuries were reported.^[16][17] Then, on 10 April 2015, a crane's arm snapped while lifting a 209-ton I-beam, causing the beam to fall and crushing a car underneath. Workers atop the beam were also thrown off. The driver of the car and three workers lost their lives, while four other works sustained heavy injuries.^[18][19] Construction was halted for three months following the incident.^[20] On 30 June 2016, construction of the line was completed, and testing began soon after.^[21][22]

Initially, the stations numbers were numbered sequentially from G1 to G20, with the "G" representing green. However, since G8 is pronounced similar to chi-bai, which is considered profane in Hokkien, the "G" prefix was changed to "1", which represents how the Green line is the first line completed.^[23] The station's English names were initially written in a mix of Tongyong Pinyin and Hanyu Pinyin, and the lack of standardization drew criticism.^[24] On 24 August 2020, the Taichung City Council decided to use Hanyu Pinyin for all stations except for Sihwei Elementary School.^[25]

Operations

Beginning on 16 November 2020, the Green line was opened to the public for testing and was free to ride until its formal opening ceremony planned for on 19 December. On the first day, 70,977 passengers used the line.^[26] However, on 21 November, the couplers on one of the trains snapped in half; the line was closed to the public the next day.^[3] Then, on 27 November, another coupler was found to be broken.^[27]

Trial runs resumed on 25 March 2021. An opening ceremony was held on 25 April 2021.^[28]

On 10 May 2023, a construction crane fell from a construction site of Highwealth Construction Corp onto a moving Taichung Metro Green Line train south of Feng-le Park metro station, Taichung, Taiwan, killing 1 and injuring 8 passengers onboard.

Rolling stock

Main article: Taichung Metro Green Line EMU

The line runs eighteen EMU trains equipped with automatic train operation. The trains are powered by a direct current, 750 V third rail. Each train has a capacity of roughly 536 people divided into two cars, each car having ten doors and two air conditioning units. Of the eighteen trains, nine are built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Kobe, Japan, while the remaining nine are built by Taiwan Rolling Stock Company.^[29][30][31]

Station list

Wuri-Wenxin-Beitun Line

Code	Station Name		Connections	Location
	English	Chinese		District	City
103a	Beitun Main	北屯總站		Beitun	Taichung
103	Jiushe	舊社	Dakeng Extension (planned)
104	Songzhu	松竹	Taichung Line
105	Sihwei Elementary School (Erfenpu)	四維國小 (二分埔)
106	Wenxin Chongde	文心崇德	Red Line (planned)
107	Wenxin Zhongqing (Tianjin Shopping Distrist)	文心中清 (天津商圈)	Orange Line (planned)	North
108	Wenhua Senior High School	文華高中		Xitun
109	Wenxin Yinghua	文心櫻花
110	Taichung City Hall	市政府	Blue Line (planned)
111	Shui-an Temple	水安宮		Nantun
112	Wenxin Forest Park	文心森林公園
113	Nantun (Wenxin Wuquan W.)	南屯 (文心五權西)	Red Line (planned)
114	Feng-le Park	豐樂公園
115	Daqing (Chung Shan Medical University)	大慶 (中山醫大)	Taichung Line	South
116	Jiuzhangli	九張犁		Wuri
117	Jiude	九德
118	Wuri	烏日	Taichung Line (out of station transfer)
119	HSR Taichung station	高鐵臺中站	Taichung Line (via Xinwuri railway station) Taichung HSR station Changhua Extension (planned)

Dakeng Extension

Code	Station Name		Transfers	Location
	English	Chinese		District	City
101	Yuanshan New Village	圓山新村		Beitun	Taichung
102	Jungongliao	軍功寮

Changhua Extension

Code	Station Name		Transfers	Location
	English	Chinese		District	City
120	Chenggongling	成功嶺		Wuri	Taichung
121	Xialaoxu	下勞胥
122	Duchuantou	渡船頭		Changhua City	Changhua County
123	Kulingjiao	苦苓腳
124	Jinma	金馬	Taichung Line (via Jinma Station, planned)

Accidents and Incidents

On 10 May 2023, a construction crane fell 30 floors from a construction site of Highwealth Construction Corp onto a moving Green Line train south of Feng-le Park metro station, Taichung, Taiwan, killing one and injuring 10 passengers onboard.

References

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External links