One person was killed and 25 were injured in a railway collision yesterday morning that railway officials blamed on the driver of a truck that had stopped on a crossing.
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said it received a report at 8:42am that an accident had occurred at a railway crossing south of Pusin Railway Station (埔心) in Taoyuan County, involving a northbound express train heading from Tianjhong (田中) in Changhua County to Hualien and a gravel truck that was stuck on the tracks.
Train driver Tsai Chung-hui (蔡崇輝), 51, died at the scene as the No. 278 Taroko Express collided with the truck. Twenty-five passengers were injured and were sent to nearby hospitals. The locomotive was destroyed and three passenger cars derailed. The accident also caused delays for thousands of travelers during peak hours.
Photo: CNA
Truck driver Peng Yung-chuang (彭永庄), 39, managed to exit his vehicle before it was struck.
The tilting express train, which can reach speeds of 130kph, mainly carries passengers heading to the east coast.
“We lost a whole train in the accident,” TRA Deputy Director-General Chang Ying-huei (張應輝) said.
“Even though some of the carriages were undamaged, the train cannot function without a locomotive.”
Chang said the incident would only slightly disrupt the TRA’s operations during the Lunar New Year holiday, which starts on Sunday.
“The damaged train was scheduled to run only 30 times during the holiday period and will be replaced by a Tzuchiang-class express train,” Chang said, adding that passengers would not have to exchange their tickets.
Each Tzuchiang-class train has 404 seats, while a Taroko Express train has 376 seats, he said.
The only problem in using the Tzuchiang trains is that the driver will have to reduce speed on corners, which means that the trains will arrive at their destination 15 and 20 minutes later than their schedule, Chang said.
The TRA estimates financial losses from the accident at about NT$200 million (US$6.7 million), as railway tracks and signals were also severely damaged.
Chang said Tsai had been recognized several times for exceptional performance, adding that his family could be awarded NT$10.23 million in compensation for loss of life in the line of duty.
The TRA will also cover the medical expenses of the injured passengers, he said.
Chang said the TRA would seek restitution from the truck company, which is liable for the damage to the railway service as well as to the victims. The amount — about NT$220 million in total — could set a record for the highest claim the TRA has ever made over a railway accident.
While the truck driver insisted he crossed the railway tracks while the barriers were up, Chang said surveillance systems told a different story.
Records from the TRA showed there were two trucks passing through the railroad crossing at the time. Prior to the arrival of the Taroko Express train, a commuter train passed through the same railroad crossing and left at 8:29:28am. The barriers began to rise at 8:29:33am and were completely raised at 8:29:38am. The railroad crossing signals went off again at 8:29:46am and the barriers were lowered again at 8:29:54am. The collision occurred at 8:30:18am.
The truck driver was also seen exiting the vehicle and trying to remove the barriers.
“It is likely he did not keep his distance from the vehicle that crossed before him,” Chang said, adding that this could explain why the truck became stuck at the crossing.
The TRA said it hoped to resume two-way traffic on the Mountain Line by 11pm yesterday and full two-way traffic on all lines today.
About 70,000 passengers were affected because of the accident.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)