Bannan line

Bannan Line
Blue Line Platform at Taipei Main Station
Overview
Other name(s)	Blue Line
Type	Rapid transit
Locale	Taipei, Republic of China
Termini	Dingpu Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center
Stations	23
Operation
Opened	December 24, 1999
Operator(s)	Taipei Rapid Transit System
Character	Underground
Depot(s)	Nangang Depot, Tucheng Depot
Rolling stock	Siemens C321 and C341 3 cars per set, 2 sets per train
Technical
Line length	28.2 km (17.5 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	Third rail (750 volts DC)
Operating speed	80 km/h

Bannan Line or Blue Line (BL as identifier) is a line of Taipei Metro line. It has a total of 23 stations serving the Nangang, Xinyi, Daan, Zhonghsan, and Wanhua districts, as well as into the New Taipei districts of Banqiao and Tucheng.

The Banqiao and Nangang Sections are collectively called the Bannan Line. The entire line runs underground. The excavation of tunnels using the cut-and-cover method resulted in large scale detouring of road traffic. Because of that, the line runs beneath existing roads and totals 28.3 km (17.6 mi).

Service on this line is divided into a full-length service from Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center to Dingpu, as well as a shorter service from Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center but terminating at Far Eastern Hospital.

Due to Taipei City Hall Station being at the center of the Taipei 101 New Year's festivities, intervals between trains can be reduced to a minimum of 135 seconds, transporting up to 39,000 passengers per hour. This results in an average of about 27 trains per hour on the Nangang Line during peak hours.