Xinyi District draws crowds all day / Traffic doubles on New Year's Eve

The Taipei City Hall station on the Blue Line has long been a fixture in the top 10 list in terms of passenger traffic and finished third overall in 2019. Before the Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station opened when the Red Line was extended to Xiangshan at the end of 2013, it was the main metro station in the Xinyi business district.

Located in the northern part of the district, the station saw a 14 percent decline in passenger traffic after the Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station on the south side of the district opened. A pedestrian overpass system was built to link several department stores, office buildings and cinemas between the two stations.

Taipei Metro staff members halt crowds at one of the entrances at the Taipei City Hall Station after the New Year’s Eve celebration in the area. (CNA photo Jan. 1, 2018)

New Year's Eve has always been a massive challenge for the Taipei Metro and the Taipei City Hall Station, thanks to the countdown event held in front of Taipei City Hall just a few minutes' walk away. On Dec. 31, 2019, 276,705 people entered and exited the station, 2.18 times the daily average that year.

The opening of the Taipei City Hall Bus Station as a long-haul bus hub next to the metro station in August 2010 helped boost its overall passenger traffic.

There are a few other metro stations that saw passenger traffic surge after becoming a transportation hub:

Beimen

The opening of the Taoyuan Airport MRT Line in February 2017 pushed passenger traffic at Beimen Station that year to a total of 1.93 million, as the station is just five minutes away by foot from the line's Taipei terminal.

Sanchong

For passengers along the Orange Line, Sanchong connects the Taipei and Taoyuan metro systems. The Taoyuan system connects to Taiwan's main international airport, and when that line opened in 2017, the number of passengers handled by the Sanchong Station rose by 967,895 from a year earlier.

Nangang

Taipei Metro's Nangang Station has benefited from the city government's plan to establish the area as Taipei's east gateway. Built next to the Taipei Railways Administration's Nangang station and under a mall and a hotel, it became a hub with the opening of Taiwan High Speed Rail's northern terminal in 2016 and a long-haul bus station in 2017 in the same block. It has seen passenger traffic grow 72.74 percent in the past five years.

Hongshulin

The Danhai Light Rail Transit (LRT) system that opened at the end of 2018 allows easier access to tourist spots in New Taipei's Tamsui. As a transit station between the Taipei Metro and the Danhai LRT, Hongshulin has seen a 50.22 percent hike in passenger traffic in the past two years.

A sign in the Beimen station displaying directions to the Taoyuan Airport MRT Line. (CNA photo April 4, 2020)

Sanchong serves as a transit station between the metro lines of Taipei and Taoyuan. (CNA photo April 9)

Two high speed trains are pictured at the platform of the Nangang High Speed Rail Station. (CNA photo July 1, 2016)

Passengers enter the Hongshulin metro station from the Danhai LRT system. (Photo: New Taipei Metro Corp.)