Taichung Mayor's 'Seven MRT Lines' Claim Criticized as Inflated; Bureau Chief Takes Blame

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen's ambitious declaration of advancing seven Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines simultaneously has faced sharp criticism from opposition city councilors, who accuse her of making inflated claims. The head of the MRT Engineering Bureau has since taken responsibility for the slogan.

During a city council meeting, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilors周永鴻 (Zhou Yong-hong) and 李天生 (Li Tian-sheng) scrutinized the mayor's "seven lines simultaneously" initiative. They pointed out that as of August, only the Blue Line has commenced substantial construction, while the remaining six lines are still in the planning or preliminary stages.

When questioned about the origin of the "seven lines simultaneously" slogan, MRT Engineering Bureau Director Su Rui-wen admitted, "The slogan was my idea." This admission led councilor Zhou Yong-hong to retort, "So you'll take the blame?" He questioned whether initiating the road network design truly constituted a launch, especially when other lines lacked even basic feasibility studies.

Transportation Bureau Director Ye Zhao-fu also addressed the council, explaining that an MRT line cannot proceed to comprehensive planning without a feasibility assessment. He drew an analogy to high-speed rail, noting that unlike high-speed rail which may bypass feasibility studies, MRT projects require a phased approach, starting from the first stage to reach the final destination.

The DPP councilors, including 張家銨 (Zhang Jia-an), expressed their strong disapproval of the mayor's pronouncements, labeling the "seven lines simultaneously" campaign as mere political posturing. The controversy highlights the gap between the administration's public statements on infrastructure development and the actual progress on the ground, raising questions about the feasibility and timeline of Taichung's planned MRT expansion.