Life on the MRT 2018

[yyy]

Why didn’t they realize people were going to ask all these why did/didn’t questions?

@discobot quote

[discobot]

All I can say about life is, Oh God, enjoy it! — Bob Newhart

[Yang_Gui_Zi]

@wafflestop

Your joking right, it takes at least a 10 minute walk with heavy luggage to get there!

But by taking the Orange line to Sanchong, you are adding 6 more stops as opposed to going to Taipei Main. That’s another 15-20 minutes.

Also IIRC, not sure about other airlines yet, but at least China airlines will let you check your luggage at the Taipei Main Station.

[wafflestop]

Because sometimes the longer way is the easier way, if they had done their homework it would be like that.

[the_bear]

Yes good question. Why is there no street level access on Qingcheng Street to the green line? Its truly bizarre. You either have to go up and then go down or go round the corner and walk (walk!) down stairs.

[tango42]

@Gain

You’d have to walk like 15 - 20 minutes for a simple connection between two metro lines at Chatelet-Les Halles

Technically they are two different stations and all lines do not connect at both so it’s walking between stations especially since the moving sidewalk doesn’t work at times.

[mooncakes]

@okonomiyaki

I love the Airport MRT, I have used it almost a dozen times now and it’s definitely up there with the best airport rail connections in the world. Convenient, comfortable, a ride with nice views, and easy to get a seat. And it’s cheap, maybe not by Taipei MRT standards, but certainly compared to what equivalent airport rail transfers cost around the world.

The one downside is the distance from the MRT platforms at Taipei Main Station, as others have pointed out. Beimen is closer (or at least easier to get to). They do have signage which points to Beimen, but it might not be immediately obvious to tourists that it’s easier to transfer at Beimen, so this could be improved.

Agree. The first time we used the Airport MRT (coming from airport to the city) we had a very long walk to transfer to the Taipei MRT at the Main Station, at the end of of which we had a hard time finding an elevator/escalator to go down to the MRT - this can be a hassle with luggage.

I transferred at Beimen on the next trip to the airport - easy peasy and much quicker.

[Gain]

It’s not just those two stations. There are a lot more and they are all terrible.

[okonomiyaki]

They joined up the last piece of the Danhai light rail last month. I guess this means the end of a heavy construction phase.

Of course there is still a lot of work to go… track, signaling, electronics, stations, finishes, and so forth before testing can begin. But it will be really cool to ride this line because it is all above ground and mostly elevated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv3_iQdkNqc

[arcticsquid]

@wafflestop

That’s the whole point, why didn’t they make the transfer there, the orange line connects there, it’s a no-brainer.

The Express Line never intended to be commuting cars (capacity much less with priority for baggage carrying through/from the airport), hence it won’t stop at suburban centers such as Sanchong, Taishan, Hsinjuang or Linkou.
The Commuter Line did intended for these suburban commuters.
The only flaw that I could think is that the frequency of the train.

@ranlee

Same question on whether why they didn’t bring the Zhongli stop…all the way into Zhongli.

I believe, it will go to Zhongli eventually.

@wafflestop

Why didn’t the High speed Rail their kaohsiung stop all the way into kaohsiung?

Now you acting like a colonial Dutchman asking for land to a local king/tribal chief.

[ranlee]

@arcticsquid

I believe, it will go to Zhongli eventually.

I believed the airport line was going to finish on time too…

[Yang_Gui_Zi]

They’ve been working on the Zhongli MRT for quite some time now. I’m sure it will connect with that Huan Bei Station…eventually.

[wafflestop]

@arcticsquid

The Express Line never intended to be commuting cars (capacity much less with priority for baggage carrying through/from the airport), hence it won’t stop at suburban centers such as Sanchong, Taishan, Hsinjuang or Linkou.

Instead of connecting one stop further they should’ve connected at Sanchong, makes more sense connecting on a cross.

[wafflestop]

@arcticsquid

Now you acting like a colonial Dutchman asking for land to a local king/tribal chief.

I’m not a ‘Dutchman’.

[BHL4life]

i think the usefulness of the airport mrt line depends on where you are starting out, and if you can be bothered with the 10 or so minute walk to the actual station. for me it would be like a 30 minute trek to get to the station, and i don’t even live that far. if i have luggage with me then no chance.

im sure its pretty great for tourists though.

[wafflestop]

For many people the HSR doesn’t make sense as they can drive at least to Taizhong faster by car than first going to a HSR station.

Dito for the Airport line.

[ranlee]

@BHL4life

im sure its pretty great for tourists though.

I think it’s awesome for tourists. Despite our buses being pretty awesome with announcing stations and having the marquee at the front of the bus, they sometimes can be a bit scary if you’re new to the place.

[UnderWaterDuck]

My first post! I have being living in Taiwan for just under 1 year and I can honestly say I’m not a big fan of the MRT in Taiwan, especially when transferring between MRT lines. They could learn a thing of two from Hong Kong. The system is really integrated and transfers are fast and there is less meaningless walking between line transfers and exiting stations. (e.g Brown line transfer to Green/Red line, Taoyuan MRT to Taiepei main station, Songshan station MRT to TRA)

[Icon]

I got direct link to Beimen, connecting to the airport line. Unfortunately, most flights I take are too early in the morning…or I carry 3 suitcases and 6 shopping bags.

[BHL4life]

thats because of how its designed. somebody posted a while ago that stations that meet on a cross will have a long transfer (taipei main station), while stations that align on a curve can be right next to each other. (ximen)

so theres not a whole lot that can be done, but i do wish they would get super fast escalators like in hong kong. people would say its dangerous, but only because taiwanese don’t pay any fucking attention to anything other than their phone screen.