New Taipei targets 2026 Sanying Line opening as testing enters key phase

New Taipei, April 21 (CNA) Tests of trains on New Taipei's Sanying Line have entered the key phase of driverless operation simulations, Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) said on Monday, as the new metro line's completion is expected before year-end, for services to commence in 2026.

The Sanying Line is 85.51 percent completed, Hou told reporters as he inspected the ongoing tests on the new metro line and traveled on a train from Sanxia (LB06) to Yingge (LB08) that morning.

The driverless operation simulations of what will also be known as the Light Blue Line in Greater Taipei's metro network currently run between Hengxi (LB04) and Yingge (LB08) stations, before system-wide tests of the 12-station line begin in October, according to the mayor.

The goal is to wrap up construction by the end of this year, and to open the line next year, Hou said.

The new line connects to the Blue Line at Dingpu Station in New Taipei's Tucheng and it is expected to cut local residents' commute time to Taipei by about 20 minutes, Hou said.

New Taipei City Councilor Chiang I-chen (江怡臻) from Tucheng said local residents have been eagerly awaiting the Sanying Line to drive local development and she expects the new line to help the recruitment of medical staff at En Chu Kong Hospital in Sanxia.

Cho Kuan-ting (卓冠廷), a city councilor from Yingge, meanwhile, said the sounds trains made when making turns were too loud and there should be more noise barriers installed along the largely elevated line.

The Sanying Line is the first medium-capacity metro line project run independently by the New Taipei City government, the mayor said, and a further extension from Yingge to neighboring Bade in Taoyuan would connect to the Taoyuan Metro Green Line currently under construction.

The driverless operations are similar to the existing services of the Wenhu Line (Brown) in Taipei and the Circular Line (Yellow), as well as the Green Line in Taichung, all projects overseen by the Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems.