A Preview of the MRT Circular Line North & South Section EMU Design Aesthetics
The current overall construction progress of MRT Circular line Phase II north & south section is 29.2%. On November 3, DORTS formally unveiled the new EMU design for the Circular line north & south section to enable the public to get a sneak peek of the beauty of the Circular line 2.0 EMUs. DORTS stated that in the future the Taipei MRT Circular line, which traverses Taipei City and New Taipei City, will provide passenger services which facilitate arriving at destinations throughout the entire loop by taking just one train. The north & south section EMUs were designed by an aesthetic creative team of the French company, Alstom, and Taiwan Design Research Institute was invited to serve as aesthetic consultants. DORTS explained that 29 new EMUs were purchased for Circular line Phase II, and a steel-wheel on steel-rail model was adopted for the medium-capacity driverless vehicles. Each EMU train is composed of four carriages with a total length of 68 meters, the capacity to accommodate approximately 650 passengers, and a maximum operating speed of 70 km/h. In the future, following the scheduled contracting of the east section for expansion of service scope, an additional 25 EMUs are expected to be purchased. On top of the original 17 EMUs of Phase I, these 71 EMUs will enable the service of the Circular line to be more sufficient. DORTS Systemwide Electrical & Mechanical Project Office (SEMPO), which is responsible for the EMUs, further explained that Circular line north & south section spans a total length of 20.66km with 18 stations. Construction of the E&M system contract commenced on November 1, 2021, and construction has commenced on four of the eight civil engineering contracts. DORTS pointed out that Circular line Phase I was opened for operations in January 2020, and the "like the clouds swift passage, the dragon travels thousands of miles" theme image of the Phase II EMUs was inherited from the Phase I EMUs. Utilizing a stainless-steel body as the car color base, the bright yellow color scheme highlights the main color of the route. The car-end-angle and smoothness of the car's front design have been specially adjusted, giving the overall vision with a sleek and modern appearance. DORTS further elaborated that in addition to enlarging the window area to create a wider field of vision in the train carriages of Circular line north & south section, new destination displays were added to the side windows of the EMUs to enable passengers waiting on the platform to conveniently identify routes and the direction of travel. Moreover, the passenger information system in the train carriage interiors has been upgraded to utilize LCD screens with the capability of providing more diverse and elaborate riding information. DORTS also stated that with the progress of Circular line north & south section and Circular line east section, in the future the gradually-forming ring-shaped route network will shoulder the responsibility of connecting together the existing MRT network. At 14 transfer stations, it will connect with Taiwan High Speed Rail and Taiwan Railways and also connect with 16 radiating MRT routes, bringing the vision of a circular loop connected with routes extending in all directions to passengers. DORTS stated with "connection" as the aesthetic design concept, the Circular line north & south section EMU exteriors have simple and neat yellow lines which make the ring shape more eye-catching. The EMU exteriors give passengers a feeling of “comfortable connection and easy travel between Taipei City and New Taipei City.” DORTS emphasized that considering that Circular line north & south section connects with long-distance transportation vehicles such as Taiwan High Speed Rail and Taiwan Railways, and taking into account the needs of transferring passengers, bottom-mounted luggage racks have been designed on the sides of the EMUs in the front and the back which are appropriately spaced from the passenger standing areas. This takes into account both aesthetics and practicality in the belief that in the future it will be capable of bringing a different riding experience to passengers.