New Taipei's Sanying Line launches with free rides through Aug. 31

New Taipei, June 30 (CNA) The New Taipei MRT Sanying Line, which connects Tucheng, Sanxia, and Yingge districts in the city, officially opened at 2 p.m. Tuesday following a ceremony attended by central and local officials, cutting the commute from Yingge to Taipei by 20 minutes.

Addressing the opening ceremony, which began at 9:30 a.m., New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) announced that the new line will offer free rides through Aug. 31, inviting the public to use the service to visit popular cultural attractions in Sanxia and Yingge.

Spanning approximately 14.29 kilometers with 12 stations, the Sanying Line provides convenient access to popular local attractions, including the New Taipei City Art Museum in Yingge, Sanxia Old Street, and the Yingge Ceramics Old Street.

The project's construction was exceptionally challenging, Hou said, noting that the team successfully navigated eight major obstacles -- two national highway crossings, two railway crossings and four river crossings, including the Dahan River.

According to New Taipei Metro Corp., the line is a vital link designed to ease congestion in New Taipei's southwestern corridor, stretching from Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) to Dingpu Station (BL36), where it connects to the Bannan (Blue) Line.

It is estimated that commuters from the Sanying area to Taipei will save about 20 minutes on their travel time, the company said.

Following a 2012 feasibility study approved by the Executive Yuan, the medium-capacity Sanying Line -- designed entirely as an elevated system -- commenced construction on July 21, 2016, taking a total of 10 years to complete.

The line will further extend about 4 kilometers westward from Yingtao Fude Station to Bade District in Taoyuan, with work scheduled to start at the end of 2026 and finish in 2034, where it will connect to the under-construction Taoyuan MRT Green Line, said Lee Cheng-an (李政安), head of the New Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems.

During the two-month trial period, trains will operate from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., after which service hours will be from 6 a.m. to midnight. Fares will follow the tiered pricing system of the Taipei and New Taipei MRT networks, ranging from NT$20 (US$0.63) to NT$35.

Attendees at the opening ceremony included Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Kuomintang New Taipei mayoral candidate Lee Shu-chuan (李四川), who served as the city's deputy mayor for over five years across two terms, and Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker and New Taipei mayoral candidate Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧).