Ximen MRT station

Ximen 西門
Taipei metro station
Platform
Ximen Traditional Chinese 西門 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xīmén Bopomofo ㄒㄧ ㄇㄣˊ
General information
Location	B1F 32-1 Baoqing Rd Zhongzheng District, Taipei Taiwan
Coordinates	25°02′32″N 121°30′30″E / 25.0422°N 121.5083°E / 25.0422; 121.5083Coordinates: 25°02′32″N 121°30′30″E / 25.0422°N 121.5083°E / 25.0422; 121.5083
Line(s)	Songshan–Xindian line Bannan line
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Bicycle facilities	Access available
Other information
Station code	G12, BL11
Website	web.metro.taipei/e/stationdetail2010.asp?ID=BL11+G12-086
History
Opened	1999-12-24[1]
Key dates
2000-08-31	Service to CKS Memorial Hall opened
2014-11-15	Songshan–Xindian line added
Traffic
Passengers (2017)	53.924 million per year[2]
Rank	2 out of 108
Services
Preceding station Taipei Metro Following station Beimen towards Songshan Songshan–Xindian line Xiaonanmen towards Xindian or Taipower Building Longshan Temple towards Dingpu or Far Eastern Hospital Bannan line Taipei main station towards Nangang Exhib Center

Ximen (Chinese: 西門; pinyin: Xīmén) is a metro station in Taipei, Taiwan served by Taipei Metro.^[3] The station is named after the former west gate of the city, whose location is roughly where the current station is located.

Station overview

Platform 2 in 2008

The station is a three-level,^[4] underground structure with two island platforms and six exits, allowing possible connections to the shopping areas and Diary of Ximen hotel.^[5] The two platforms are stacked, thus allowing for cross-platform interchange between Green Line and Blue Line. Washrooms are inside the entrance area. In November 2010, the daily ridership at Ximen station was 112,000,^[6] making it the fourth busiest station on the network, just behind Taipei Main Station, Taipei City Hall and Zhongxiao Fuxing station.

It is situated under Zhonghua Rd, at the intersection of Chengdu Rd, Hengyang Rd, and Baoqing Rd. The station is also connected to the Ximen Intelligent Library (an unmanned branch of the Taipei Public Library).

Exit 6 is heavily used by those accessing the Ximending shopping area. The exit opening is set at the top of the pedestrian zone, although there is still vehicular traffic in that area. The station is often crowded on weekends, especially in the afternoon.

History

During Japanese rule, the station was called Shinkichō Station (新起町乘降場) and opened on 5 November 1930. It was specifically for refueling and its location was roughly where the current station is today.

After the war during post-war rebuilding, the station's name was changed to the current "Ximen Station". However, the station location had disappeared due to illegal construction, so the station could not be reconstructed. An underground emergency station opened on 2 September 1987 as part of the Taipei Railway Underground Project.

Ximen station used to be a station on the TRA Western Line. However, the underground area is nowadays only used as an emergency station and not open for revenue service.

Ximen station was constructed from 1995 and opened on 24 December 1999 for the Blue Line and 30 August 2000 for the Green Line. On 15 November 2014; the Songshan Line opens for revenue service, hence all Xiaonanmen Line trains continue to the Songshan Line and Xindian Line.

In the past, plans for the Taoyuan Airport MRT had this station as a terminus. However, the route has since been altered and the station is no longer on the planned route. (Ximen underground passageway)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ximen Station.