Kaohsiung Metro () or Kaohsiung Rapid Transit (KRT). Construction of the MRT started in October 2001. The MRT opened in 2008 and the Circular light rail in 2015. Kaohsiung Metro is operated by the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation (KRTC; ) under a BOT contract the company signed with the Kaohsiung City Government.
The system uses romanizations derived from Tongyong Pinyin.
History
The Kaohsiung City Government undertook a feasibility study for constructing a rapid transit system in Kaohsiung in 1987. After finding favorable results, the city government began lobbying the Central Government for approval and funding. In 1990, approval was obtained to establish the Kaohsiung City Mass Rapid Transit Bureau and planning of the rapid transit network started. The first phase of the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System, the Red and Orange Lines, was approved in 1991, but disputes in funding shares between Kaohsiung City and County Governments stalled the project. The Kaohsiung City Mass Rapid Transit Bureau was officially established in 1994, to coincide with the project's move into the final scoping and detail design stages.
Work continued until 1996, when the Central Government ordered KMRT to look into constructing the project via the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) method. In 1999, the city government put out a request for the BOT contract to construct the first phase of the KMRT system. In 2000, out of the three consortia that submitted bids, Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation (KRTC) was awarded the contract, receiving priority negotiating rights with the city government in constructing the system. KRTC obtained a company license and was registered in December 2000. In January 2001, KRTC signed the "Construction and Operation Agreement" and the "Development Agreement" with the Kaohsiung City Government, signaling the beginning of construction of the KMRT system. The main participants of the KRTC are: China Steel Corporation, Southeast Cement Corporation, RSEA Engineering Corporation, China Development Industrial Bank, and the Industrial Bank of Taiwan. Construction costs were shared between the central government (79%), Kaohsiung City Government (19%), and Kaohsiung County Government (2%).
The Kaohsiung MRT Foreign Workers Scandal, involving alleged inhumane treatment of Thai migrant workers, erupted in 2005. Investigation revealed kickbacks to politicians by the contractor. The scandal had tainted the public confidence in the construction of the system and prompted a diplomatic response by the Thai Prime Minister asking the migrant workers to return to Thailand. Chen Chu, the Chairperson of the Council of Labor Affairs of the Executive Yuan, resigned as a result of the scandal.
In December 2005, another subway tunnel section of the Orange line at eastern Kaohsiung collapsed during construction. The collapse of the subway tunnel also brought about the collapse of a road tunnel above the subway tunnel. Several nearby buildings were evacuated for several days for inspection. It was estimated that the road tunnel could not be rebuilt and reopened for traffic for at least a few months. In January 2008, the section was still closed and traffic is diverted around the affected area.
Opening
Construction accidents delayed the opening of the MRT considerably from the originally planned December 2006 date. The Sanduo-Siaogang section of the Red Line was eventually opened to the public for free test rides during 8–11 February 2008, and the Red Line (except for two stations) opened for service on 9 March 2008. The Orange Line fully opened for service on 14 September 2008.
Unopened stations
The R1, R2, and O3 stations were planned originally but never built. The R1 and R2 stations were cancelled before construction, and O3 was cancelled due to a fire at the original station location.
Routes
thumb
Kaohsiung Metro is made up of the Red Line and Orange Line with 38 stations covering a distance of
. Twenty-seven of these stations are underground, with nine elevated and two at-grade level. All underground stations have full height platform screen doors.
The light rail transit (LRT) system consists of the Circular Line with 38 stations.
- Kaohsiung Metro route table:
- In operation: Main lines: 3, Extensions: 0
- Planned: Main lines: 9, Extensions: 6
- Total routes: Main lines: 11, Extension: 6
- Terminated: Main line: 1, Extensions: 1
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Line
!colspan=2 style="width:400px;"|Termini<br />
!Stations
|-
|Gangshan-Lujhu extension 1 phase
|Gangshan—KMU Gangshan Hospital
|1
|In operation
|-
||Main line||KMU Gangshan Hospital—Siaogang|||28.3||In operation
|-
|Linyuan extension||Siaogang—Linyuan Ind'l Park||12.2||Under construction
Expected to be completed by 2030
|-
|Chemei extension
|Dahu—Chimei Museum
|7.05
|7.05
|Proposed
|-
!
||Main line||Sizihwan—Daliao||14.4||14.4||In operation||Rapid<br />transit||Daliao
|-
! rowspan="2" |
|Phase I (Main line)||Lizihnei—Hamasen||8.7
| rowspan="2" |22.1|| rowspan="2" |In operation|| rowspan="2" |LRT
| rowspan="2" |Cianjhin
|-
|Phase II (Main line)||Hamasen—LRT Depot||13.4
|-
! rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="2" |Main line
||Kaohsiung Exhibition Center—Niaosong||
| rowspan="2" | 22.91|| rowspan="2" |Under construction.
Expected to be completed in 2028.
| rowspan="3" |Rapid<br />transit
| rowspan="3" |Niaosong
|-
||Cianjhen Senior High School—Niaosong||
|-
|Cianjhin fishing port extension
|Cianjhen Senior High School—Cianjhin fishing port
|
|
|Proposed
|-
! rowspan="2" |
|Main line||KMU—Shu-Te University||25.35|| rowspan="2" |36||Proposed
| rowspan="2" | Rapid<br />transit
| rowspan="2" |Yanchao
|-
|Longterm extension||Shu-Te University—Buddha Memorial Hall||10.65||Proposed
|-
!
|Main line||Linyuan—Donggang—Dapengwan||10.9
|10.9||Proposed
| LRT||
|-
!
|Main line
|Lotus Pond—Benguan
|6.17
|6.17
|Proposed
|
|
|-
!
|Main line
|Zuoying—Minzu 1st Rd.
|8.39
|8.39
|Proposed
|
|
|-
!
|Main line||Daliao—Linyuan||14.67
|14.67||Proposed||
|
|-
!
|Main line||Fongshan Jr. HS—Taisugar PT FTY||14.0
|14.0||Proposed|| ||
|-
!
|Main line
||Zuoying—Shu-Te University||15.9||15.9||Proposed||
|
|-
!
|Main line
||Ruixiang Jr. HS—Niaosong||8.32||8.32||Proposed
|
|
|-
!
|Main line
||Cianjhen Senior High School—Houjing||19.16||19.16||Proposed|| ||
|-
!
|Main line
||Siliao—Cable-Stayed Bridge||16.06||16.06||Proposed
| ||
|-
!
|Main line
||Hamasen—Kaisyuan Jhonghua||7.39||7.39||Proposed|| ||
|}
Rolling stock
thumb|Central Park Station courtyard
The rolling stock is based on the Siemens Modular Metro design manufactured by Siemens Mobility. Trains run in three car sets (though platforms are designed to be able to accommodate up to six car sets) and are powered by third rail. Seats are arranged parallel to the windows, unlike their Taipei Metro counterparts. LED displays are installed above every alternate door (other doors show the route map), showing the name of the current station and next station in Chinese and English. Automated announcements are made in Mandarin, Taiwanese (with the exception of since no Taiwanese translation for the name is available), Hakka, and English, with Japanese announcements at the major stations. The train has AC traction motors with IGBT–VVVF inverters powered by Siemens.
Fares and ticketing
thumb|right|[[Formosa Boulevard Station's "Dome of Light"]]
The fares of KMRT is distance-based, with a minimum of NT$20 for trips within . The maximum fare on the Red Line is NT$60, from Siaogang Station to Ciaotou Station.
One-way fare is ticketed with an RFID IC token. In addition to the RFID IC token, there are four kinds of contactless smart card accepted. The iPASS card was the only card that could be used before 1 July 2016. After 1 July 2016, EasyCard, iCash2.0, HappyCash were accepted by the system.
Ridership
, the average daily ridership stood at about 178,802 on the MRT, for a total annual ridership of 65.44 million trips. The LRT has a total annual ridership of 12.58 million trips. During New Year's Eve on 31 December 2012, the system transported 472,378 passengers.
Art
Kaohsiung Arena Station, Formosa Boulevard Station, and Kaohsiung International Airport Station feature artworks integrated into the design of the station by international artists.
Facilities and services
Platform screen doors were supplied by ST Electronics have been installed at all underground stations. LCD television units have also been installed on platform doors for the broadcast of train information and advertisements. All stations are wheelchair accessible.
Mascots
The most famous mascots of Kaohsiung Metro is the K.R.T. Girls that are four anime-styled characters, and Mikan that is station master of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery metro station as mascot since 2020 become more popular.
See also
- Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation
- List of metro systems
- Rail transport in Taiwan
- Taipei Metro
Notes
References
External links
- Kaohsiung Future LRT Network Map
- Mass Rapid Transit Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government