Taipei, July 5 (CNA) The Sanying MRT line, which will connect Dingpu with Yingge via Tucheng, Sanxia and Yingge districts in New Taipei, was 70 percent complete as of the end of June, the city's Department of Rapid Transit Systems said Wednesday, despite construction already being two years behind schedule.
According to the city department, a majority of the line's facilities, which include a depot, a control center, maintenance workshops and electrical substations, are now complete.
In addition, the first of the 29 two-car train sets is slated to be delivered to Taiwan from Japan in August and the rest of them are scheduled to be manufactured by the end of next year, the department said.
Each train set for the 14.29 kilometer medium-capacity metro line, which consists of 12 elevated stations, has 50 seats and can accommodate 200 passengers, it added.
According to the city department, the Sanying Line is expected to open in 2025, instead of the originally scheduled late 2023, after its construction work, which started in 2016, was significantly pushed back.
The New Taipei City government has attributed the delay to labor and material shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, some local protests against land expropriation, and a labor reform policy the started in 2017 that stipulates a 40-hour five-day work week with one compulsory rest day and one flexible rest day.
Once commercial runs begin, travel time between Yingge and Taipei will be reduced by 20 minutes, the city department has said, adding that the new metro line will connect with the Taipei MRT's Blue Line, as well as both the Taoyuan MRT's airport line and the yet-to-be-completed Green Line in Taoyuan.
