Print

Mail

wiki links

Truck crash brings train derailment

A container truck lies wedged under an rail bridge it smashed into near the Taichung Train Station, yesterday. PHOTO: SUN YI-FANG, TAIPEI TIMES

Police and rail officials denied responsibility yesterday after a truck smashed into a train overpass, damaging the track above and leading to a derailment 30 minutes later.

It was the second rail crash in less than three weeks.

Two people were injured in the accident, and rail traffic between Taichung and Changhwa was paralyzed after the crash yesterday. The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA, 台灣鐵路局) announced that normal rail service would resume at 6am today.

The passenger train was out of service at the time, but the engineer, conductor and the truck driver were injured in the incident.

The container truck, at around

4:50am, crashed into a rail overpass about 200m from the Taichung Train Station, bending the rail tracks on the bridge. The 4.2m-high truck crashed and stuck under the bridge as it tried to pass under it. The height limit of the bridge is 3.7m.

At 5:20am, as a Tzu Chiang express train crossed the bridge, its nine coaches derailed and careened into one of the station platforms.

A Tzu Chiang express passenger train derails, nearly careening into houses along the tracks near the Taichung Railway Station, yesterday. PHOTO: SUN YI-FANG, TAIPEI TIMES

"To my shock I discovered that the rail track had deformed into an "S" shape about 100 meters before we reached the bent rail. I pulled the emergency break and the train lost control and derailed. We didn't receive any warning," train engineer Su Shih-shui (蘇石水) said yesterday after he was sent to the hospital.

Su recieved three stitches in his right arm.

The train was out of service when the accident occurred, carrying only a crew of three. The train's conductor, Wu Chin-chuan (吳進傳), and the truck driver Hsu Chieh-shi (徐結士), were sent to Cheng Ching Hospital (澄清醫院) in Taichung City. Although the doctor at the hospital said that the injured were not in critical condition, they were being held for further observation.

"... I pulled the emergency break and the train lost control and derailed. We didn't receive any warning."

Engineer Su Shih-shui

The police opened a full investigation into the accident yesterday.

The accident damaged two electric polls, one platform and part of a building at the Taichung Train Station.

"When the accident [with the truck] happened, the police didn't realize it's possible impact on the rail track, so we were not informed," said Chang Hsien-chang (張顯漳) the director of the Taiwan Railroad Administration (TRA) Taichung rail operation.

Seeking to deflect blame for the mishap, Chang said, "With all the damage caused by the derailment -- a result of the violation of traffic regulations by a truck driver -- the TRA is actually the victim in this accident," he said.

The head of Taichung's West District police station sought to dispel any charges of police responsibility, saying, "We were sent to record the accident, not knowing that the railway line was damaged."

Both the West District police station and the Taichung City First Police Station, which informed the former of the accident, told the Taipei Times last night that they didn't know who had initially informed police of the accident.

The TRA yesterday arranged shuttle buses to transfer passengers between Taichung and Changhwa.

Meanwhile, two cars of a construction train loaded with logs derailed at 3.30pm yesterday on a level crossing near Kunyang (昆陽) road in Taipei.

Although no injuries were reported, three southbound trains were delayed because of the incident. Normal service on the that line resumed at 5:30pm yesterday.
This story has been viewed 3389 times.