Taipei Rapid Transit System

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Began operation March 28, 1996
System length In service: 74.4 km
No. of lines 8
No. of stations 67
Daily ridership 1,214,728 (in November 2007)
Operator Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC)
Taipei Rapid Transit System
Traditional Chinese: 台北大眾捷運系統
Estimated cost: US$ 32 billion (phase 1 and 2)

The Taipei Rapid Transit System, also known as the MRT (Metropolitan Rapid Transit), or by locals simply as the Metro Taipei is a rapid transit system connecting the Taipei metropolitan area. The system is currently operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC).

Since Taipei Metro joined the Nova International Railway Benchmarking Group and the Community of Metros (Nova/CoMET) in 2002, it has started collecting and analyzing data of the 33 Key Performance Indicators set by Nova/CoMET in order to compare them with those of other metro systems around the world, as a reference to improve its operation. Taipei Metro also has gained keys to success from case studies on different subjects such as safety, reliability, and incidents, and from the operational experiences of other metro systems.

According to a study conducted by the Railway Technology Strategy Centre of Imperial College, and data gathered by Nova/CoMET, the Taipei Metro has ranked number 1 in the world for three consecutive years in terms of reliability, safety and quality standards.

The Taipei Metro is one of the most expensive rapid transit systems ever constructed.

Since its completion, the TRTS has reduced travel time from one end of Taipei to the other from up to three or more hours to less than an hour, and has been effective in relieving some of Taipei's traffic congestion problems.

The TRTS also includes several public facilities such as Maokong Gondola, underground shopping malls, parks, and public squares. Modifications to existing railway lines to integrate into the MRT are underway.