Yesterday was a bad day for Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) after services on both the Wenhu and Bannan Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines had to be temporarily suspended because of separate incidents.
The first incident occurred at 8:06am when an unexpected power interruption occurred at a power substation in Muzha.
The power shortage caused four trains to pause between Da-an and Zhongxiao Fuxing stations, as well as Xinhai and Linguang stations of the Wenhu line, trapping passengers inside.
PHOTO: CNA
As many as 19 other trains were also effected, TRTC spokesman Chao Hsiung-fei (趙雄飛) told reporters.
“Service was suspended on the Muzha section of the line, but we were still able to keep the rest of the line running via manual operation,” he said.
Since the incident happened during the morning rush hour, more than 1,700 passengers were affected, Chao said, apologizing for the inconvenience.
TRTC quickly dispatched shuttle buses, but this didn’t help because the buses became stuck in traffic for more than 30 minutes.
“We dispatched buses immediately after the situation occurred, but since we quickly brought everything back to normal by 8:33am, the buses did not arrive until everything was fixed,” Chao said.
“It was very inconvenient — the MRT shut down, the shuttle buses arrived late and all the taxis were full,” one Wenhu Line passenger told reporters. “I was late for work.”
“[TRTC] staffers at Liuzhangli Station only told us that the service was suspended, but could not say how long the suspension would last or what they intended to do for the passengers. We were left there on our own,” another passenger said.
“I am very upset — I was late for work, I had to take a half day off, but all I got was a ‘sorry’ from the TRTC,” the passenger said.
Service was partially disrupted on the Bannan Line after a 26-year-old man jumped onto the tracks at Shandao Temple station in the afternoon.
The interruption lasted from 3:12pm to 4pm as Taipei Fire Department personnel worked to remove the man from the tracks.
The man was conscious when he was rescued and suffered only minor injuries. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
At press time it was still unclear why he jumped onto the tracks.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS