Taipei MRT Rapid Transit Subway 台北捷運

What is the Taipei MRT?

As the largest metro subway system in Taiwan, the Taipei MRT serves about 2 million riders daily. It is fast, convenient, and, most importantly, CLEAN! The subway system is very easy to navigate, and is both bilingual in Chinese and English (including the Chinese languages of Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, and Hakka). Transfers between lines are relatively close to each other, and the stations serve most areas of Taipei.

The MRT is well integrated with other transit systems in Taipei, including High Speed Rail (高鐵), standard train services, express trains to the airport, local city busses, intercity long-distance busses, and tour busses.

One important thing to note in the Taipei MRT is that lines are rarely referred to by color name, instead they are referred to by their terminal station. This naming convention is a bit confusing for visitors who are not familiar with the city, so we will use line colors for simplicity.

Brown Line - Wenhu Line

This line is unique in that it is entirely above-ground and is a driverless system. Of interest to visitors along this line is Taipei Songshan Airport, Miramar Mall and Ferris wheel (美麗華), Muzha District, Taipei Zoo, and access to the Maokong Gondola. Make sure to get a spot at the very front or very rear of the train to get a better view of the city. As a side note, the escalators connecting the brown and red interchange at Da'an Station are uniquely designed with a flat section in the middle.

Red Line - Tamsui-Xinyi Line

This line travels the entire north-south distance between Tamsui north of Taipei City and Xinyi District. Please check the destination name of the train as it arrives at the station. If you wish to travel to Tamsui, board a Tamsui train instead of a Beitou train (as this train terminates a few stations before and you will have to change). Same for Xiangshan- and Da'an-bound trains. Taipei Main Station is the main interchange station for red and blue. Beitou Hot Springs are located around Xinbeitou station. Interesting destinations around the red line also include Yongkang Street, Taipei 101, and Taipei Expo Park (花博).

Green Line - Songshan-Xindian Line

This line travels from Songshan Railway Station and Raohe Night Market looping the city down through Ximending, Shi-Da Night Market, and Gongguan to Xindian District and Bitan (碧潭) riverside area, with a bus connection to Wulai Atayal Aboriginal Village and Hot Springs (烏來).

Orange Line - Zhonghe-Xinlu Line

This line is primarily for commuters living in New Taipei City, and travels from Nanshijiao in the south to both Xinzhuang and Luzhou Districts in the west, looping through downtown Taipei. The orange line branches at Daqiaotou station, so if you wish to travel west past this station into New Taipei City, please be aware of which train you are boarding. Huilong (迴龍) trains travel south towards Xinzhuang, and Luzhou (蘆洲) trains travel north towards Luzhou.

Blue Line - Bannan Line

This line travels from the southwest edge of Taipei to the east through Banqiao, Ximending, Taipei Main Station, and all of Taipei City's downtown areas past Dongqu (East) and Xinyi Districts nearby Taipei 101 (Taipei City Hall Station) out to Nangang District. This line, along with red, will be the most frequently utilised by travellers visiting Taipei, and is frequently congested due to its role as the main line in the city. West-bound trains terminate either at Far-East Hospital or Dingpu, however, generally visitors will never travel that far out into the suburbs, so it's not really necessary to focus on which specific train you are boarding.

Yellow Line - Circular Line

This line operates within New Taipei City limits, serving the communities of Xindian, Zhonghe, Banqiao, and Xinzhuang with connections to other lines into the downtown. Currently, only the southwest portion of the 'circle' is operational from Xindian District running northwest towards the Airport MRT station at New Taipei Industrial Park (A3).

Maokong Gondola

This line is a gondola cable car service that runs from Taipei Zoo Station (Brown Line terminus) up the mountain to the top of Maokong, a mountain-top tea destination.

Taoyuan Airport MRT

Although not part of the Taipei MRT system, the Taoyuan Airport MRT line is integrated into the system and accessible at a few stations including the terminus Taipei Main Station (Red and Blue interchange in the downtown) and Sanchong Station (Orange line west of the city).

Light Colour Lines

The light colour lines are short-distance branch lines, hence the light colour. These lines are of limited interest to visitors except possibly the Xinbeitou Branch of the red line to visit hot springs.

Where are the Best Attractions?

Hours of Operation
Opening Time: The first trains leave from their respected terminal stations around 6AM.
Closing Time: The last trains leave from their respected terminal stations around 12AM midnight.

To view specific information about each station (times for first/last train), and to visit the MRT Website, click here.