Taipei City to decide fate of Neihu-Muzha lines tomorrow
Taipei City will announce on Tuesday what it will do with the troubled Neihu-Muzha Mass Rapid Transit lines, especially during the upcoming Deaflympics, Mayor Hau Lung-pin said.
The MRT lines were in the midst of their second consecutive weekend shutdown on Sunday for intensive repairs by Canadian contractor Bombardier. The city has blamed the problems on the difficult integration of the new Neihu Line with the Muzha Line, built more than a decade ago by France’s Matra. Hau has given Bombardier until the end of the year to achieve a 99-percent success rate.
The previous 56-hour weekend closure brought no end to the troubles, with service still facing short suspensions several times over the past week.
Since its opening on July 4, the Neihu Line has been plagued by a wide variety of problems, including an eight-and-a-half-hour shutdown on July 10.
Some have suggesting shutting down the Neihu Line while letting the original Muzha Line continue to operate.
The fate of the MRT lines was also important because of the Taipei Deaflympics the capital will host from September 5 through 15. Breakdowns of the public transport system during the international sports event would likely embarrass the city government, leading it to consider shutting down the two lines for the duration of the games, reports said. The recent repairs reportedly involved the installation of additional backup systems and changes to the network enabling to restrict suspension of services to a limited section of the line, or even to one single station.
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