Circular Line (KMRT)

The Circular light rail () is a light rail line in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, operated by Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation. The southern part of this line makes use of the defunct tracks of the Kaohsiung Harbor Railway Line. Construction cost was forecasted to be 16.5 billion New Taiwan dollars.

Phase I consists of the section of the line from Station C1 to Station C14, of which Stations C3 and C14 are transfer stations to KMRT and , respectively. Construction of Phase I began on 4 June 2013. Stations C1 to C14 were open on a test-basis (free for the public) from August 2015, and commenced formal operations in September 2017. From November 2014 onwards, the CAF Urbos trams used in these tracks were tested in this line parked on multiple occasions.

Phase II construction of the northern section partially began on 12 January 2021 after the underground relocation of Kaohsiung urban railway. The northern part of Phase II was scheduled to be opened in June 2021 along with the rest, but was delayed due to local opposition and is now projected to complete by 2023.

History

Stations

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!English!!Chinese
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, colspan="5" style="background:#A0A0A0;font-size:85%" align="center" , — ↑ Loop line towards Depot ↑ —
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, C1, , , ,
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, rowspan=8, Cianjhen
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, C2, , , ,
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, C3, , , ,
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, C4, , , ,
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, C5, , , ,
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, C6, , , ,
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, C7, , , ,
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, C8, , , ,
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, C9, , , ,
, align="left" , (planned)
, rowspan=2, Lingya
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, C10, , , ,
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, C11, , , ,
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, rowspan=2, Yancheng
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, C12, , , ,
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, C13, , , ,
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, rowspan=13, Gushan
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, C14, , , ,
, align=left,
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, C15, ,
(ALIEN Art Centre), , ( 金馬賓館當代美術館)
, align="left" ,
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, C16, , , ,
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, C17, , , ,
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, C18, , Gushan, ,
, align=left,
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, C19, , , ,
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, C20, , TRA Museum of Fine Arts Station, ,
, align=left,
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, C21A, , , ,
, align=left,
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, C21, , , ,
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, C22, , , ,
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, C23, , , ,
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, C24, , , ,
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, C25, , ', , '
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, rowspan=1, Zuoying
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, C26, , ', , '
,
, rowspan=5, Sanmin
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, C27, , ', , '
,
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, C28, , ', , '
, align=left, (planned)
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, C29, , ', , '
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, C30, , {{lrt, '' Science and Technology Museum'', , ''{{lang, zh-hant, 科工館''
, align=left, {{rint, tw, TRA {{stl, Taiwan Railways, Science and Technology Museum
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, C31, , ''{{lrt, St. Joseph Hospital'', , ''{{lang, zh-hant, 聖功醫院''
,
, rowspan=5 bgcolor = #F9F9F9 , Lingya
, -align=center
, C32, , {{lrt, Kaisyuan Park, , {{lang, zh-hant, 凱旋公園
, align=left, {{rint, kaohsiung, o {{small, via Wukuaicuo (O8), {{small, via Culture Center (O7)
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, C33, , {{lrt, Department of Health, , {{lang, zh-hant, 衛生局
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, C34, , {{lrt, Wucyuan Elementary School, , {{lang, zh-hant, 五權國小
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, C35, , {{lrt, Kaisyuan Wuchang, , {{lang, zh, 凱旋武昌
, align="left" ,
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, C36, , {{lrt, Kaisyuan Ersheng, , {{lang, zh-hant, 凱旋二聖
,
, rowspan=2, Cianjhen
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, C37, , {{lrt, LRT Depot, , {{lang, zh-hant, 輕軌機廠
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, colspan="5" style="background:#A0A0A0;font-size:85%" align="center" , — ↓ Loop line towards {{lrt, Lizihnei ↓ —
, -align=center bgcolor={{rcr, Kaohsiung Metro, C
, colspan="5" ,

Rolling stock

The line's fleet consist of nine CAF Urbos trams that will operate catenary-free.{{cite web, title=Trams: KAOHSIUNG TRAMWAY, url=http://www.caf.es/en/productos-servicios/soluciones-integrales/casos-estudio/tranvia-kaohsiung.php, access-date=2014-03-20, publisher= CAF The tramway cars are {{convert, 34, m, sp=us in length, and will be able to transport a total of 250 passengers (seated, and standing).

15 Alstom Citadis 305 trains will be introduced.{{cite web , url= https://www.railway-technology.com/news/alstom-citadis-x05-trams-enter-service/, title=Alstom Citadis X05 trams enter service on South Circular LRT in Taiwan , publisher=Railway Technology , access-date=2021-02-03 The first Alstom trams entered service in November 2020.

Ticket

Unlike the Kaohsiung Metro Red and Orange Lines, the Kaohsiung Light Rail is charged at a lower rate. As of January 2019, the fare for each light rail is NT$30. There is special offer by using the digital wallet (such as iPass, EasyCard, icash, etc.) is NT$10. Card readers are available at each station and inside of tramway. When paying the fare by the e-ticket (digital wallet), passengers are only charged one of them at each time. When paying by cash, passengers can purchase tickets at the ticket vending machines at each station for the ticket inspector to check.

Previous light rail demonstration project

In 2004, the Kaohsiung City Government and Siemens built a temporary two-station circular light rail line in Central Park, operated by a single trainset, in order to demonstrate the feasibility of building a light rail system in Kaohsiung City.{{Citation needed, date=July 2013 It was meant to alleviate some residents' concerns that light rail would negatively impact their surroundings by producing excessive noise and hindering normal traffic flow.{{Citation needed, date=July 2013 This Siemens Combino vehicle would later become the D2 Class operated in Melbourne, Australia.

See also

* Danhai light rail
* Transportation in Taiwan
* Kaohsiung Metro

References

{{reflist

External links

{{Commons category, Kaohsiung LRT Circular Line

Kaohsiung LRT Network Map

Kaohsiung LRT Project(Phase I) Project Brief

LRT Pages in Kaohsiung Metro Construction Bureau

The newest Kaohsiung LRT proposal clip

Older Kaohsiung LRT proposal clip

{{KMRT Circular Line
{{Taiwan rapid transit

Standard gauge railways in Taiwan
Light rail transit in Kaohsiung
Railway lines opened in 2016
2016 establishments in Taiwan
Light rail in Taiwan