Wenhu line

The Wenhu or Brown line (code BR) is a metro line in Taipei operated by Taipei Metro, named after the districts it connects: Wenshan and Neihu. It is an automated medium-capacity rubber-tyred metro line and is 25.1 kilometres (15.6 mi) long, serving a total of 24 stations located in 7 districts in Taipei, of which 22 are elevated and 2 underground. As of April 2022, the line transports an average of approximately 140,000 passengers daily.

The Wenshan section began revenue service on 28 March 1996, as the Muzha line. The Neihu section began revenue service on 4 July 2009. The Wenhu line was then named the Muzha–Neihu line, colloquially shortened as the Zhahu line, until 8 October 2009, when it adopted the current name, short for Wenshan-Neihu line. This was the first metro line to be constructed in Taipei and it is the only line without train approaching melody.

Construction of the Wenshan line began in December 1988 at a cost of NT$42.6 billion. It was plagued by controversy, cost overruns and technical problems from its development up to a few years after its opening. Originally slated to commence passenger service in December 1991, its revenue operation was repeatedly delayed up to 28 March 1996 owing to numerous accidents. Public confidence was shaken as incidents of lightning strikes, computer failures, two instances of rolling stock derailment and catching fire each were reported during the testing phase. In 1999, cracks were found on the elevated pillars forcing the line to shut down temporarily.

One of the largest suppliers for the system, Matra, which supplied the VAL 256 rolling stock and electrical systems for the line sued the Department of Rapid Transit Systems of the Taipei City Government for costs overruns claiming to have resulted from the latter failing to provide the necessary infrastructure to build the line. Subsequently, the company pulled out of the operation of the line in 1994. Chen Shui Bian, then Mayor of Taipei declared that progress and operation of the line would continue despite the walkout in the now-popular catchphrase "馬特拉不拉，我們自己拉" (lit: If Matra doesn't pull, we'd pull it ourselves). After a 12-year-long legal tussle, in 2005, Matra was awarded NT$1.6 billion (approx. US$50 million) in damages by the Supreme Court of the Republic of China.

Services on the Wenshan line began with two-car operation of the VAL 256 coupled together. Eventually, increasing patronage on the system led to operation in four-car configurations. The opening of Maokong Gondola in 2007 have also boosted passenger numbers travelling on the line to Taipei Zoo for transfer.

The Wenshan line is connected to the Neihu Line, which opened in July 2009. It connects to Neihu and Taipei Songshan Airport, which currently has no rapid transit access. Since an alternative contractor Bombardier was awarded to supply the rolling stock and the signaling system for the new line, the Wenshan line's signaling system was converted to suit the new communications-based train control (CBTC) CITYFLO 650 to allow both the old Matra rolling stock and the new Bombardier rolling stock to run in co-existence. On 19 December 2010, fifty-one pairs of retrofitted VAL 256's (from the Matra rolling stock) will begin testing on the entire line. After over half a year of testing, the additional trains will decrease the time between trains at rush hour from 2 minutes to 72 seconds and bring the total number of trains operating on the line to 152 pairs.

The long-awaited Neihu line has had many delays prior to its opening. Since the Neihu line was planned as an extension to the Wenshan line, the original plan called for a similar elevated medium-capacity line. However, due to the growth of the Neihu District, many residents and politicians called for an underground, high-capacity line instead (similar to the Blue line).

The initial cost estimate of the elevated line was NT$42.6 billion, but due to delays the price-adjusted cost estimate rose to over NT$60.3 billion. A shift to underground construction would have increased the cost to as high as NT$134.4 billion. However, the Central Government stated that if construction for the Neihu line did not start immediately, they would withhold the grant money for the line. In addition, due to the narrow streets and numerous turns in Neihu, construction of an underground high-capacity line would have been infeasible. Thus, the plan to build an elevated line continued after much delay.