Circular light rail



The Circular light rail is a light rail loop line in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, operated by the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation. The line stretches over a length of 22.1 kilometers and has 38 stations. The southern part of this line makes use of the defunct tracks of the Kaohsiung Harbor Railway Line. Construction cost was forecasted to be 16.5 billion New Taiwan dollars.

Phase I consists of the section of the line from Station C1 to Station C14, of which Stations C3 and C14 are transfer stations to the KMRT and, respectively. Construction of Phase I began on 4 June 2013. Stations C1 to C14 were open on a test-basis (free for the public ) from August 2015, and commenced formal operations in September 2017. From November 2014 onwards, the CAF Urbos trams used in these tracks were tested in this line parked on multiple occasions.

Phase II construction of the northern section partially began on 12 January 2021 after the underground relocation of the Kaohsiung urban railway. The northern part of Phase II was scheduled to be opened in June 2021 along with the rest, but was delayed until 1 January 2024 due to local opposition.

Rolling stock
The line's fleet consists of nine CAF Urbos trams that are powered by supercapacitor banks. The tramway cars are 34 m in length, and are able to transport a total of 250 passengers (seated, and standing).

15 Alstom Citadis 305 tramway cars entered service in November 2020.

Ticket
Unlike the Kaohsiung Metro Red and Orange Lines, the Kaohsiung Light Rail is charged at a lower rate. As of January 2019, the fare for each light rail is NT$30. There is special rate of NT$10 by using a digital wallet (such as iPass, EasyCard, icash, etc.). Card readers are available at each station and inside of tramway. When paying the fare by the e-ticket (digital wallet), passengers are only charged one of them at each time. When paying by cash, passengers can purchase tickets at the ticket vending machines at each station for the ticket inspector to check.

Previous light rail demonstration project


In 2004, the Kaohsiung City Government and Siemens built a temporary two-station circular light rail line in Central Park, operated by a single trainset, to demonstrate the feasibility of building a light rail system in Kaohsiung City. It was meant to alleviate some residents' concerns that light rail would negatively impact their surroundings by producing excessive noise and hindering normal traffic flow. This Siemens Combino vehicle would later become the D2 Class operated in Melbourne, Australia.