The first light rail train has arrived in Kaohsiung — static checks and inspections to begin first

▲The first light rail train in Kaohsiung arrived in the early hours of the 13th. (Photo / Taken from the Kaohsiung City Government website)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The first light rail train in Kaohsiung arrived early this morning (13th). Due to the impact of the petrochemical gas explosion, it will be temporarily placed in the maintenance area of the Kaohsiung MRT’s Southern Depot for tasks such as power connection, cabin arrangement, and preliminary inspections. The overall construction schedule remains unchanged. Mayor Chen Chu visited this morning to check on the train’s arrival and maintenance status, and also expressed hope that the circular light rail will open on schedule.

After the first light rail train arrives in Kaohsiung, static verification, inspection, and testing work will be carried out. This will be followed by two months of dynamic testing and performance tuning using the actual train. Once the entire fleet is delivered, system integration testing and preliminary trial operations will be conducted. Upon official operation, there will be nine light rail trains running along the circular light rail route in Kaohsiung.


▲After the first light rail train arrives in Kaohsiung, static verification, inspection, and testing work will be carried out. (Photo / Taken from the Kaohsiung City Government)

Deputy Mayor Liu Shih-fang also rushed over early in the morning to understand the trailer transport situation. She stated that the light rail was originally scheduled to begin testing on the section from Qianzhen to Dream Mall in early November. However, due to the gas explosion, construction at the Qianzhen Depot Station could not proceed smoothly, so priority has been given to disaster recovery work for the Section 8 reconstruction project. Other sections remain unaffected, and the city government has assured that the overall progress of the light rail project remains unchanged.

The circular light rail is being constructed in two phases, with a total length of 22.1 kilometers. It is expected to have 36 stations and one depot. The first phase, which is a turnkey project with a total cost of NT$5.679 billion, covers a route of approximately 8.7 kilometers, starting from the Qianzhen Train Yard and ending at the MRT Xiziwan Station. It adopts a 100% low-floor and catenary-free system, making it the first light rail in all of Asia to use a fully catenary-free system along its entire line.