Mayday, E-DA, and Dream Mall Ring in the New Year with Spectacular Events in Kaohsiung; KMRT Extends Operating Hours

▲ The Chinese pop-rock supergroup “Mayday” will once again bring their New Year’s Eve concert to the World Games Stadium in Kaohsiung, rocking into 2014 this year. (Photo / Provided by B’in Music)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

This year’s New Year’s Eve will be ablaze with festive excitement across Taiwan. In southern Taiwan’s premier countdown destination—Kaohsiung—the two major celebrations at “E-DA World” and “Dream Mall” will be joined by the Chinese pop-rock supergroup “Mayday,” who have once again chosen to ring in the new year with the people of Kaohsiung, belting out “Just Rock it!” as the clock strikes midnight. To manage the expected influx of people, the Kaohsiung City Government announced its traffic control plan yesterday (25th), with the Kaohsiung MRT extending its hours until 3:00 AM on New Year’s Day.

According to estimates from the Kaohsiung City Government, this year’s “Wow Kaohsiung 2014 Incredible Harbor City New Year’s Eve” event at Dream Mall’s Times Avenue, along with the E-DA Theme Park’s countdown concert, are expected to draw over 1.1 million attendees. Adding to the excitement, Mayday’s “Just Rock It” concert at the 50,000-capacity World Games Stadium will make this year’s celebration in Kaohsiung even more spectacular than ever. To help the large crowds returning home after the festivities, in addition to the MRT running until 3:00 AM, the city government has also coordinated with Taiwan Railways, Taiwan High Speed Rail, and bus operators to add extra services.

▲ The E-DA Theme Park’s countdown event (left) and Dream Mall’s Harbor City New Year’s Eve at Times Avenue (right) are expected to attract over one million participants combined. (Photo / From the E-DA Theme Park fan page; Dream Mall fan page)

On December 31st, the Kaohsiung MRT will extend its operating hours until 3:00 AM on New Year’s Day to coincide with the celebrations, adopting a flexible approach similar to Taipei’s MRT by potentially extending service further depending on crowd levels. During peak times, trains will run approximately every 2.5 minutes. In conjunction with the “iPass” free ride promotion valid until the end of the year, Kaohsiung MRT feeder buses and mainline services will also operate until 2:00 AM to transport passengers.

Taiwan Railways has added multiple services to accommodate travelers arriving from other regions for the countdown, but these are limited to routes northbound from Kaohsiung Station to Tainan and Chiayi, as well as southbound to Pingtung. The last northbound train from Kaohsiung Station to Chiayi departs at 1:45 AM on New Year’s Day, while the last train to Tainan leaves at 2:40 AM. Southbound trains to Pingtung will run until 2:20 AM on New Year’s Day.

Taiwan High Speed Rail will add four additional southbound and four northbound trains on the afternoon of the 31st, and two additional northbound trains on the early morning of January 2nd next year. Expressway bus operators such as Kuo-Kuang Motor Transport and Uni-President Express will adjust schedules to add extra services for travelers, while Kaohsiung Bus will also operate additional “Chi-Mei Express Highway Buses” to serve passengers traveling to and from the Chi-Mei region.

For more information on traffic diversion and road controls, visitthe Kaohsiung City Government’s official website.

▲ %A few whispers above the image) and Taiwan High Speed Rail (lower left) and Taiwan Railways (lower right), in coordination with Kaohsiung’s New Year’s events, will all add extra services to help with transportation. (Photo / From Wikipedia; provided by Taiwan Railways)