Tainan Begins Bidding for First Metro Line, Blue Line; Construction May Start in 2028

Tainan's first metro line, the Blue Line, has entered the bidding phase, signaling a substantial move towards realizing the city's long-awaited public transportation project. The 8.55-kilometer line will feature 10 elevated stations and a depot in Rende. While the bidding process has commenced, actual construction of the elevated tracks and maintenance depot is not expected to begin until 2028, following a one-to-two-year period for detailed design after a contractor is selected. Tainan City Transportation Bureau Director Wang Ming-te assured that construction will not overlap with ongoing sidewalk renovation projects on Zhonghua Road and Zhonghua East Road. He also stated that traffic management plans will be carefully reviewed in coordination with the police to minimize disruption to commuters. Beyond construction traffic concerns, future parking availability is also being addressed. The city is pursuing Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects for two parking lots, 'Stop 6' and 'Stop 9,' by offering incentives such as increased floor area ratios to attract private developers.

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The Blue Line's general contracting project has been publicly tendered. If a contractor is successfully selected, it will still take one to two years for detailed design, so the actual elevated track and maintenance depot construction may not start until 2028 at the earliest.