The staffer disappeared and no one else came to assist. Passengers alighted from the carriage, helping the infirm and elderly, before walking slowly between the two tracks back to the station. The sheer number of passengers meant that it took at least 20 minutes for them to reach Gangqian Station, no more than 200m away.
APOLOGY
Later yesterday, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) apologized for the inconvenience the incident had caused the public, and demanded that Taipei city’s Department of Rapid Transit System solve the false alarms and malfunctions that have hindered the Neihu Line since its operation began less than a week ago.
“We are prioritizing our efforts on fixing the system’s false alarms and stabilizing it in the shortest time,” Hau said.
Hau acknowledged the problematic system integration of the Neihu and Muzha lines could be the reason behind the frequent malfunctions and the shutdown of the lines yesterday, but said the city government did not plan to halt the operation of the two lines to fix the problem.
The Neihu Line, an extension of the Muzha Line, was designed to be compatible with the Muzha Line’s Matra system. The Neihu Line’s builder, Montreal-based Bombardier, sent software engineers to inspect the computer systems and improve the detection of false alarms last month.
Hau said the city government would ask Bombardier for compensation according to contract if the company fails to solve the system malfunctions.
Department Commissioner Tom Chang (常歧德) said his department and Bombardier were working to fix the problems and seeking to have the lines resume operation as soon as possible.
In compensation, the firm gave free one-day MRT passes and bus tickets to passengers who had to walk along the tracks to get back to the stations. The Taipei City’s Transportation Department will continue to provide free shuttle buses along the lines today, Tsay said.
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