The Taoyuan Airport MRT () is a rapid transit line of the Taoyuan Metro that connects Taipei, Taoyuan and New Taipei with Taoyuan International Airport in northern Taiwan. The line has 22 stations, from Taipei Main Station to , and began commercial service on 2 March 2017.

Commuter and Express services operate on the line, which features in-town check-in and baggage check at Taipei Main Station and at .

An extension to Zhongli railway station via from the current terminus at is under construction. The Laojie River metro station opened in July 2023, and the full extension is scheduled for completion in 2028.

Route The Taoyuan Airport MRT route starts from Taipei Main Station and heads west, passing through Sanchong, Taishan, Xinzhuang, Guishan, Linkou, and Luzhu before reaching Taoyuan International Airport, after which the route turns south to Taoyuan HSR station before terminating at in Zhongli. The route is currently long with 22 total stations, of which 7 are underground and 15 are elevated; approximately of the line is underground while the remaining is elevated. There are two maintenance depots along the line: Qingpu Depot (near ) and Luzhu Depot (near ).

Operations Two types of services are offered: Commuter and Express. Commuter trains have a blue livery and stop at all stations, while Express trains have a purple livery and focus on serving passengers using Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), stopping at just two stations between Taipei Main Station and the airport, they are New Taipei Industrial Park and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Express trains reach TPE from Taipei Main Station in 35 to 37 minutes depending on the terminal, with a 15-minute headway at all times. While nearly all Express train services only run between Taipei Main Station and TPE, a few services during weekday rush hours and weekend afternoons run to Huanbei with only one additional stop at Taoyuan HSR station, with an end-to-end travel time of 64 minutes. Commuter trains have a 15-minute headway at all times and serve the full route to Laojie River in 82 minutes.

Express trains have transverse row seating with underseat storage for luggage as well as three luggage racks per car; Commuter trains have longitudinal seating without underseat storage and only have two luggage racks per car. Both services feature free wi-fi as well as flight information display systems showing status of departing flights at TPE, although there are more displays on Express trains. Express trains also offer wireless charging stations.

In-town check-in In-town check-in and baggage check services are available at Taipei Main Station and . Baggage handling equipment is installed, including check-in counters, conveyor belts, container handling equipment, container elevators, and control systems. Baggage is transported from the check-in counter into containers, which are loaded onto Express trains. Checked baggage is delivered to Terminal Two, where it is scanned and directed to the appropriate airline.

Flight information Flight information display systems, which also carry information on Taiwan Railway and THSR services from transfer stations, are installed at all stations served by Express trains from Taipei Main Station to TPE, as well as at Taoyuan HSR station.

Fares Fares on the Taoyuan Airport MRT are based on distance traveled and there is no fare difference between Commuter and Express services. Published one-way fares range from NT$30 to NT$160, with fares from Taipei Main Station to TPE priced at NT$160 and fares from Taoyuan HSR station to TPE priced at NT$30. Since October 2018, a NT$10 promotional discount on all published one-way fares has been applied due to the operational profitability of the line since service began.

30, 60, 90, and 120-day periodic tickets allowing unlimited rides on the Taoyuan Airport MRT within specified station pairs are available, priced at a 30, 35, 40, or 50% discount, respectively, on the price of 21 published round-trip fares between the specified station pairs per 30-day period (21 being the approximate average number of weekdays per month).

Trips between airport stations, and between the airport stations and the airport hotel station, are free when using an IC card at the automatic gates.

Rolling stock

Passenger electric multiple units Kawasaki manufactured all Express trains and seven Commuter train sets in Japan, while Taiwan Rolling Stock Company (TRSC) manufactured the remaining Commuter train sets. The car body is constructed from stainless steel and each car is supplied with 750 V DC electricity from a third rail, powered by IGBT–VVVF inverters and conventional 3-phase AC induction motors provided by Mitsubishi Electric, and controlled with Siemens Mobility's Trainguard MT communications-based train control (CBTC) system, which has subsystems of automatic train control (ATC), automatic train operation (ATO) and automatic train protection (ATP).

Of the 41 train sets, 18 are Express trains while 23 are Commuter trains. Four-car configurations are used for Commuter trains, while Express trains have five-car configurations due to an extra baggage car. Commuter train cars have 50 longitudinal seats with two wheelchair areas and two luggage racks. Express train cars are equipped with 54 seats with one wheelchair area and three luggage racks. Each train car has three doors per side except for baggage cars which have five doors per side; baggage cars have an onboard baggage handling system including control equipment.

Fleet roster All trains have open-gangway connections. Class Image Year built Builder Capacity Routes operated Formation Top speed (km/h) Fleet total Set numbers Design Service 1000 2011– KawasakiTRSC 1116 Commuter 4-car setsDM1-M1-M2-DM2 110 100 23 1001~1023 2000 Kawasaki 855 Express 5-car setsDM1-M1-M2-M3-DM2 18 2001~2018

Engineering trains Taoyuan Metro uses a specialized fleet of engineering trains supplied by Hokuriku Heavy Industries for maintenance of way. Some of these trains include rail crane wagons, rail inspection vehicles, and 60-ton rescue locomotives.

In April 2017, Taoyuan Metro borrowed an ultrasonic flaw detection vehicle from Taipei Metro to conduct comprehensive inspections on its rail tracks after a crack was discovered on a track point at the emergency halt between and . At that time, Taoyuan Metro only had a hand-pushed ultrasonic inspection device for such purposes.

History A rail system to connect Taoyuan International Airport with existing transportation hubs was proposed as early as the 1980s and reemphasized over the years in government proclamations such as the New Ten Major Construction Projects.

The metro route was originally planned to be constructed as a BOT project; in 1998, the project was auctioned to Evertransit International Development Corp. (), a subsidiary of Ever Fortune Industrial Co. (). However, the company failed to begin the construction, and in 2003, the government cancelled the contract. After the BOT project failed to go through, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) decided to build the line directly from the government budget.

MOTC originally planned for the line to be transferred to the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) to operate; President Ma Ying-jeou had also proposed the Bureau of High Speed Rail (BOHSR) to operate the line with the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC) and the TRA. Later, the TRA announced they would not be able to operate the line so the MOTC asked TRTC to operate the line or have the Taoyuan City Government create the Taoyuan Rapid Transit Corporation to operate the line.

Taipei terminus change and design The terminus in Taipei was originally planned for but was changed to Taipei Main Station to facilitate transfers to TRA, THSR, and Taipei Metro, as well as other transportation modes including bus services at the adjacent Taipei Bus Station. However, there were disagreements between MOTC and the Taipei City Government over the precise location of the station platform within the Taipei Main Station area; MOTC preferred an elevated platform just north of Taipei Main Station while the city wanted an underground platform just west of the main station, across Chengde Road. The MOTC's elevated platform proposal was less expensive and faster to construct, but the city objected as the platform and track would have obstructed the scenery of the surrounding area. The two sides eventually compromised, agreeing to the underground platform proposal but with the Taipei City Government covering the additional cost. The revised project was approved in September 2004.

The Taipei Main Station terminus of the Taoyuan Airport MRT was built under the future Taipei Towers development and was designed by architect Fumihiko Maki. The station itself extends five stories underground. The diaphragm wall is deep and excavation depth was around . Four underground levels were constructed: three for the terminus of the station and one for a parking lot. China Engineering Consultants, Inc. (CECI) won the contract for construction of the Taipei City section of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, including construction of the station and platform at the Taipei terminus, through public appraisal on 8 July 2005. Redevelopment of the area will consist of retail, office, and hotel components.

Construction and development

The BOHSR of the MOTC oversaw construction, which began in 2006 and was scheduled for completion in 2013 but was plagued by multiple delays. The entire system was budgeted at NT$113.85 billion.

Land acquisition for the Sanchong City section totaled and cost NT$1.4 billion, including land and buildings.

In addition to tracks and stations, joint development projects have been constructed to boost development around stations. A special industrial zone was planned around the THSR Taoyuan Station area. In April 2011, Kingdom Construction Corp. signed a contract to construct a 16-story residential and commercial building near Linkou Station.

Civil engineering The design of core E&M systems (including rolling stock, power supply, signaling, communications, depot equipment, platform screen doors, etc.) and the design and construction of two depots (Qingpu and Luzhu) were awarded as part of a contract worth NT$25.5 billion. Hitachi, in cooperation with Marubeni Corporation and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, won the bid for the E&M systems and signed the contract on 12 January 2006. The groundbreaking ceremony for the power supply system was held on 1 October 2010 on behalf of five contractor companies including Hitachi. Motorola supplied the digital radio communications system for the line.

The power supply for the system is drawn from two Taiwan Power Company 161 kV supplies at three Bulk Supply Substations (BSS); one incoming line serves as the main power supply while the other serves a backup. One substation (A8) is located between Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Linkou. The main RC structure was completed in March 2011, while civil engineering was finished at the end of October. The automatic fare collection system contract was awarded to Mercuries Data Systems (MDS) on 22 October 2010 for NT$355 million.

Platform screen doors are installed at all underground stations, while elevated stations are equipped with automatic platform gates.

Track