Ricardo announced it has been appointed by the Taipei City Government to provide Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) services for Phase Two of the Wanda?Shulin line, a driverless metro route under construction in Taipei, Taiwan, for a total of ?2.3 Million. Ricardo?s teams will assess whether the electrical and mechanical sub-systems - including rolling stock, infrastructure, communications and power supply - and their interfaces with civil and track works meet the client?s required standards for functionality, quality and operational safety. A key responsibility will be ensuring that Phase Two, a mostly elevated 11km section that is due to open in 2028, will integrate seamlessly with Phase One, a 9.5km underground section that is expected to commence passenger service in 2025. The completed line, which will be known on the Taipei Metro network as the ?Light Green? line, will operate with driverless technology (Grade-of-Automation 4) throughout. A primary focus of work will be on the system interfaces, such as the compatibility of Phase One rolling stock with Phase Two?s control systems and station environments. As the project progresses, Ricardo's experts will undertake a wide range of audits and risk assessments to verify that all potential hazards are recognised and advise on measures to sufficiently mitigate any identified risks. Ricardo will also monitor the manufacture of sub-systems to ensure the designs are properly validated, and assess their installation, testing and commissioning. The complexity of unifying two separate phases into a single route bears many similarities with the extension of the Blue Line in Bangkok, where Ricardo performed the same IV&V duties during its conversion into a circular ?loop? line in 2018. The experience gained in Bangkok was one of the factors behind the decision to select Ricardo's team for the Wanda?Shulin project.