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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Airport MRT to start trial run on Feb. 2: Cheng
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan, center, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan, second right, and other guests display the government’s approval for the Taoyuan International Airport MRT line to operate at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
GRACE PERIOD: Tickets for the airport line will be half price for one month after its official launch in March. Normal rates will apply starting on April 2
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
The trial operation of the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Mass Rapid Transit （MRT） line is to begin on Thursday next week, with the official launch scheduled for March 2, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan （鄭文燦） said yesterday.
Tickets for the airport MRT will be half price for one month after its launch in March, Cheng said, adding that normal ticket prices would apply starting on April 2.
Cheng made the announcement after the Ministry of Transportation and Communications issued an operating permit for the system yesterday afternoon.
Taoyuan Metro Corp, the line’s designated operator, took reporters on a tour of the airport MRT. However, the train was forced to slow down at one point because of an earthquake.
The trial run is to last for one month and would be conducted in two phases, Taoyuan Metro Corp president Chen Kai-ling （陳凱凌） said.
The company will only accept group reservations during the first phase, which starts from Thursday next week and runs through Feb. 15, he said.
“Group visitors will be government agencies, transportation experts and other organizations,” Chen said.
“Each group is to be capped at 40 people and will have a representative to receive the official invitation issued by Taoyuan Metro,” Chen said.
“Group visitors can only access the airport MRT line through the A1 Taipei Main Station, A3 New Taipei Industrial Park Station, A8 Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Station, A10 Shanbi Station, A18 Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station and A21 Huanbei Station,” he said.
The system will be open daily from 8am to 4pm during the trial run, he said.
The airport MRT will be open to the public in the second phase, from Feb. 16 to March 1, he added.
People do not need to make reservations and can access the system from any one of the 21 stations along the route between 8am and 4pm during the second phase, Chen said.
Each person would be given a number before they board the train, he said, adding that the number tags would be dispensed at the stations at 7:40am, 9:40am, 11:40am and 1:40pm.
Chen said the trial run would serve as a stress test for the system before its official launch, during which more than 700,000 people are expected to access the system.
After its launch, it will operate daily from 6am to 11pm, he added.
Asked about the airline check-in facility at Taipei Main Station, Taoyuan International Airport Corp president Hsiao Ting-ko （蕭登科） said that it would only be available for passengers boarding the train during the second phase. of the trial operation.
“As the [airport MRT] system is expected to open at 8am daily during the trial operation, we can check luggage for passengers whose flights leave after 11am,” Hsiao said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
