Connecting New Taipei City's Diverse Communities with Modern LRT Technology
Taiwan's Northern Coast attracts countless visitors to its pristine shoreline and rich historical sites, and is home to many vibrant communities. Danhai New Town, which hugs the northern edge of New Taipei City, is one of those communities. With its growing population, Danhai requires high-quality public transportation to meet its citizens' needs. That's why, in 2013, government authorities approved an extensive Light Rail Transit (LRT) system for the region.
PECL played an important role in turning the Blue and Green lines of the Danhai LRT into reality. Our physical footprint on this project includes over 14 kilometers of track (both at-grade and on viaducts), 14 stations, and a 4.95 hectare depot complex. China Steel Corporation (CSC) – the EPC contractor on the project selected PECL to provide the detailed design for its work. We performed full discipline design for sub-grade, at grade and superstructure facilities along the entire alignment, including working with the Ministry of Transportation for the proper consideration of the roads and highways impacted within our design. This role included creating digital models of viaduct landscaping, stations, and depots. These models gave CSC a 360˚ view of the project and its challenges long before any track was built. In addition, we designed the system's overhead catenary system – the overhead wires that keep the trains running. For its design and modeling efforts, PECL was awarded the Digital Innovation Award and Engineering Environment and Landscaping Super-Excellent Award by the Chinese Institute of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering. But the greatest reward of all came in December 2018 and November 2020, when Green Line and Phase I of the Blue Line respectively opened to the public.
Green & Blue Lines: At-a-Glance
- Track: 14.1 km total, 5.66 km of viaducts, 8.44 km at-grade
- Stations: CSA & MEPF engineering for 14 stations, 7 elevated and 7 at-grade
- Depot: 4.95 ha total, including main workshop, stabling yard, administration building
- Level Crossing: EPC scope for 18 level crossings
- Core System: Overhead Catenary System; Power Supply System; At-grade SIG System
BIM Implementation
The Danhai LRT enjoys another honor: it is recognized as one of the first transportation projects in Taiwan to incorporate BIM into station design, civil engineering, and railway planning throughout the design and construction stages -- including conceptual/detail design, fabrication, and construction. The use of BIM enabled crystal clear visualization, and ensured smooth communication with the owner and customer. For customers and contractors alike, the biggest headaches come from small errors in the design and construction stage, which require costly rework. PECL utilized BIM to facilitate clash management and space optimization, allowing the project team to spot and correct errors long before they turned into liabilities. Through the integration of BIM with GIS (Geographic Information Systems), PECL was able to generate maps, models, and 3D visualizations that could more accurately depict the impact of our designs on the local environment and finalizes the railway alignment. These capabilities allowed us to fine tune our designs to minimize any potential harm to the environment, enhancing the sustainability of the project. Through greater awareness that these tools provide, PECL can continue to develop more sustainable projects that fully consider the community's role in protecting local and global natural resources.