Ximen (Chinese: 西門, formerly transliterated as Hsimen Station until 2003) 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.

Ximen

西門
Taipei Metro station
Exit 6, Ximen Station, Taipei Metro
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese西門
Simplified Chinese西门
Literal meaningWest Gate
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXīmén
Bopomofoㄒㄧ ㄇㄣˊ
Wade–GilesHsi¹-men²
Hakka
Pha̍k-fa-sṳSî-mùn
Southern Min
Tâi-lôSe-mn̂g
General information
LocationB1F 32-1 Baoqing Rd
Zhongzheng and Wanhua, Taipei
Taiwan
Coordinates25°02′32″N 121°30′30″E / 25.0422°N 121.5083°E / 25.0422; 121.5083
Line(s) Songshan–Xindian line
Bannan line
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Bicycle facilitiesAccess available
Other information
Station codeG12, BL11
Websiteenglish.metro.taipei/cp.aspx?n=1BE0AF76C79F9A38
History
Opened24 December 1999[1]
Key dates
31 August 2000Service to CKS Memorial Hall opened
15 November 2014Songshan–Xindian line added
Passengers
2016131,836 daily (December 2020)[2]Increase 2.2%
Rank(Ranked 2nd of 109)
Services
Preceding station Taipei Metro Following station
Xiaonanmen Songshan–Xindian line Beimen
towards Songshan
Longshan Temple Bannan line Taipei Main Station

Station overview

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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 the Diary of Ximen hotel.[5] The two platforms are stacked, thus allowing for cross-platform interchange between the Green Line and the Blue Line. Restrooms 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.

Station layout

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Street Level Ground Level Entrance/Exit
B1 Concourse Lobby, toilets, one-way ticket machine, information desk
Ximen Metro Mall
B2 Platform 1   Bannan line toward Nangang Exhib Center / Kunyang (BL12 Taipei Main Station)
Island platform, doors open on the right for Bannan Line, left for Songshan-Xindian Line
Platform 2   Songshan–Xindian line toward Songshan (G13 Beimen)
B3 Platform 3   Bannan line toward Dingpu / Far Eastern Hospital (BL10 Longshan Temple)
Island platform, doors open on the left for Bannan Line, right for Songshan-Xindian Line
Platform 4   Songshan–Xindian line toward Xindian / Taipower Building (G11 Xiaonanmen)

History

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During Japanese rule, a railway station at the current site 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 MRT station is today.[citation needed]

After the war during post-war rebuilding, the station's name was changed to the current "Ximen". It was later closed due to illegal construction. An underground emergency station opened on 2 September 1987 as part of the Taipei Railway Underground Project.[citation needed]

Ximen railway 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.[citation needed]

Construction of Ximen MRT station started in 1995, and the station opened on 24 December 1999 for the Blue line. On 30 August 2000, a service to CKS Memorial Hall opened. Under that operation, only 3 platforms were used so platforms 2 and 4 would switch service every 6 months. After the Xinyi Line opened, the shuttle service was extended to Taipower Building until the Songshan–Xindian line opened on 15 November 2014.[citation needed]

Around the station

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References

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  1. ^ "Chronicles". Taipei Metro. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Passenger Volume at Taipei Rapid Transit Stations". Taipei Mass Rapid Transit Co., Ltd. 2021-01-15.
  3. ^ "Taiwan Quick Take: MRT line breaks ground". Taipei Times. 2006-08-20. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  4. ^ "營運路段 - 南港線西段". Department of Rapid Transit Systems. 2010-08-05. Retrieved 2010-11-28.
  5. ^ "Route Map: Ximen Station". Department of Rapid Transit Systems. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  6. ^ 台北市政府交通局 首頁 > 業務資訊 > 統計資訊 > 交通統計月報 > 當期交通統計月報(另開視窗下載)