Making the Commute Easier in New Taipei City
Spanning 146.2 kilometers and with 131 stations, Taipei's award-winning Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system efficiently shuttles millions of passengers throughout Taipei City and New Taipei City every day. Before 2020 however, traversing from one end of the system to another required transiting through downtown Taipei. The MRT's Circular Line, or Yellow Line, has shortened this circuitous route.
Opened in January 2020, Phase I of the Circular Line spans 15.4 km connecting 14 stations through 11 districts and connects with five MRT lines: Xindian Line; Zhonghe Line; Bannan Line; Xinzhuang Line; and the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT System. The route connects Dapinglin Station in southern New Taipei City to the New Taipei Industrial Park in its northwest.
PECL brought extensive experience in transportation project development and leading-edge technology that enabled the route to cross challenging terrain, including the Dahan River. PECL professionals provided Detail Design and CSA (Civil, Structural & Architectural) services with our JV partner MAA for multiple stations and viaducts on the 6.4 km DF113 section of the Circular Line. We performed complex below grade design, pilings and foundations to accommodate the in-situ utilities and had to manage difficult elevated road crossing in a congested area requiring complicated design geometry solutions. We also undertook the full design on the Banqiao intermodal transfer station that bring HSR, MTR lines and bus terminal and taxi services together. Banqiao station was a 7 story above grade and 5 story below grade facility.
Deploying BIM (Building Information Management) processes and design software, PECL professionals created extensive digital models for five elevated stations, which included plumbing, electrical, and fire protection systems. With these complete digital layouts in hand, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) – the operator of the MRT system – and its contractors could optimize material costs and avoid costly delays.