Taipei Metro's Banshan Line Most Profitable; Tamsui-Xinyi Line Follows; Wenhu Line Struggles

Taipei Metro is the backbone of public transportation in the Greater Taipei metropolitan area, serving millions of commuters and tourists daily. The performance of each line varies, with the Banshan Line leading with an annual profit of 9.16 billion yen and a daily ridership of 550,000 to 600,000 people. This line connects key hubs such as Nangang, Taipei Station, Ximen, and Banqiao, traversing the most densely populated and commercially active areas in the Taipei-Keelung region. Passengers comment, "The Banshan Line is Taipei's main artery, covering all the prime stations in the east-west direction. It includes Xinyi District, Eastern District, Taipei Station, Ximen, New Taipei City Hall; you don't need to transfer to go anywhere," "It's very friendly to visitors from other counties, directly connecting Nangang, Taipei Station, and Banqiao, three interrail transfer stations. Transferring to the high-speed rail is seamless," "On weekends, take the Blue Line for shopping and movies; department stores, cinemas, and exhibition halls are all on the line, from Nangang Exhibition Center to Banqiao Far Eastern Plaza," "The high-capacity carriages on the Banshan Line are spot on. Although crowded, the carriages are spacious, and with recent interior optimizations, the capacity is excellent," "Food line no doubt! National Theater, Zhongxiao Dunhua, Ximen Town have plenty of Michelin and popular stores; you can eat for a month without repeating," "Commuting on the Banshan Line for years, hardly encountered any delays; you can calculate your departure time perfectly, no need to worry about being late."

The Tamsui-Xinyi Line follows with an annual profit of approximately 4.96 billion yen and a daily ridership of 450,000 to 500,000 people. This line covers Taipei Station, Xinyi Business District, Shilin, and Tamsui, perfectly combining local commuting, business development, and leisure tourism needs. Netizens comment, "The Red Line is really amazing, connecting from the skyscrapers in Xinyi District all the way to the Tamsui River," "Love taking the Red Line in summer; the air conditioning at the exits is refreshing, and the elevated sections have good lighting, making the ride less claustrophobic," "The Red Line is the golden tourism line! It covers 101, Yongkang Street, Taipei Station, Shilin Night Market, and Tamsui Old Street; it's perfect for showing around foreign friends," "You can also transfer to the Xinyi Line to go to the hot springs; the painted trains are very distinctive, and this is probably the only metro line in Taiwan that can directly take you to the hot spring area," "The Red Line's red background with white text signs are very iconic, running north-south through Taipei City, making it very easy for outsiders to get their bearings; you won't get lost," "In the evening, from Fuxinggang to Guandu, watching the sunset over the Guandu Plain, the fatigue of commuting is instantly healed."

On the other hand, some lines face financial pressure due to insufficient transfer benefits or high maintenance costs. The third-ranked Songshan-Xindian Line, despite having a daily ridership of 320,000 to 360,000 people, faces limited transfer benefits in some sections and higher daily maintenance costs, resulting in a slight deficit. As for the Zhonghe-Xinlu Line and the Wenhu Line, the former, although having strong commuting demand along the line, has longer routes and more stations, leading to significantly increased operating and equipment maintenance costs, currently still in a deficit state; the latter, due to the use of a special rubber-tired medium-capacity system, has long-term higher maintenance costs, coupled with relatively limited overall capacity, facing continuous significant financial pressure.

Overall, the profitability of metro lines is not solely dependent on commuter traffic but also on factors such as route length, transfer node linkage effects, and subsequent hardware system maintenance costs, which are key to determining whether a line can achieve profitability.