Kaohsiung Main Station () is a railway and metro station in

Sanmin District Sanmin District () is a district of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. History During the Ming dynasty, the Wang, Tsai, and Cheng families built houses in the area to farm the land. The area was thus named ''Sankuaicu'' (). After the handover of Taiwan fro ...

, Kaohsiung,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

served by the Taiwan Railways and

Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Kaohsiung Metro () is a rapid transit and light rail system covering the metropolitan area of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its rapid transit network is known as Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit or Kaohsiung MRT. Construction of the MRT started in October 200 ...

. It is one of four ''special class'' stations, the highest class with the most services. It is currently undergoing reconstruction, scheduled to be complete in 2024.

History

The main railway station serving Kaohsiung, formerly known as Takau () and , was located at

Hamasen Hamasing () or is a historic urban area of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It is located in the southern end of Gushan District between the foot of Ape Hill and Yancheng District, another historic quarter. History The name ''Hamasing'' was derived from ...

. It opened in 1900 and served trains to Tainan. The Fengshan (then ) line opened in 1907. The station at the current site was built between 1933 and 1941. Towards the end of the century, it was decided that the railway was to be moved underground within Kaohsiung. A temporary station building was used between 2002 and 2018, when the underground station was partially opened. A temporary metro station was also used between 2008 and 2018. Construction on the remaining segments of the project is scheduled to be complete in 2024. The rebuilt station was designed to accommodate the proposed extension of

Taiwan High Speed Rail Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the high-speed railway of Taiwan consisting of one line that runs approximately along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. With construction and operations managed by a pri ...

. However, on 27 September 2019, the Pingtung extension was confirmed to bypass central Kaohsiung.

TRA railway

The TRA portion is a three-level underground railway station with two island platforms. The 1941 station building is planned to be moved back to the original position for display. The TRA railway in Kaohsiung also serves as a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

. Nevertheless, the railway in Kaohsiung only has the capacity of

double-track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...

, making it difficult to allow many such

shuttle train A shuttle train is a train that runs back and forth between two points, especially if it offers a frequent service over a short route. Shuttle trains are used in various ways, in various parts of the world. They commonly operate as a fixed consi ...

s as EMU800 for domestic transportation to run through at once.

Metro

The

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

station is a two-level, underground station with one entrance. It is located at Jianguo 2nd Road. On 5 September 2018, it was relocated 100 metres north, making it the first metro station in Taiwan to be relocated. The new platforms are lengthened to allow for six carriages up from three. The former concourse and platforms are closed and reserved for emergency use.

KMRT Station

* 2008-03-09: Red line between Ciaotou and Siaogang opened. ;Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) :Western line :Pingtung Line ;Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit :Red Line

High-speed rail

There was originally a plan for the HSR tracks to be constructed underground from

Zuoying HSR station Zuoying () is a metro and railway station in Kaohsiung, Taiwan served by Kaohsiung MRT, Taiwan High Speed Rail, and Taiwan Railways, where it is known as Xinzuoying (). The station is served by the fastest HSR express services of the '' ...

to this station together with the planning of the TRA tracks being moved underground. However, due to the fact that the construction of the HSR extension would be at a relatively high cost, it was decided to only begin moving the TRA in Kaohsiung underground, and the HSR would terminate at Zuoying. Even though no space was reserved for the HSR during construction of the TRA underground project, space has still been reserved at Kaohsiung Main Station to set up HSR platforms.

Health concerns

A team from

NSYSU National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU; ) is a public research-intensive university renowned as an official think tank scholars' community, located in Sizihwan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. NSYSU is listed as one of six national research universities, ...

examined air quality in Kaohsiung main station on early October 2019 and found that the

PM2.5 Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...

was 17 times higher than that of standard, putting passengers and workers at risk of getting

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side ...

. Trains equipped with

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

that run through

South-Link Line The South-link line () is a line of the Taiwan Railways Administration running across the southern tip of the island of Taiwan, connecting the eastern and western coasts. It is 98.2 km long, of which 81.4 km is single-track. The secti ...

, the only single-track and non-electrified railway in Taiwan, were to blame.

Around the station

Chang-Gu World Trade Center The Chang-Gu World Trade Center (), also known as Grand 50 Tower, is a tall skyscraper in Sanmin District of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It was completed in 1992 and was designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners. It was the first building in Taiwan to reach a h ...

Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School (KSHS; ) is a high school in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Formerly a boys' school, the school has offered music, gymnastics and science classes since it became co-educational in 1986. Located near the Kaohsi ...

* Kaohsiung Vision Museum * Sankuaicuo Station * Sanfong Central Street * Sanfeng Temple * Jianguo Rd. Computer Market * Changming Rd. Clothing, Electronics, and Spare Parts Market * Kaohsiung Bus Station * Kuo-Kuang Motor Transportation Co., Aloha Bus Co., United Bus Co., Ho-Hsin Bus Traffic Co. Stations

References

External links

TRA Kaohsiung Station

Taiwan Railways Administration

KRTC Kaohsiung Main Station
{{KMRT Red Line 1941 establishments in Taiwan Kaohsiung Metro Red line stations Railway stations opened in 1941 Railway stations served by Taiwan Railways Administration Transport infrastructure completed in 2018