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Angler urges greater railway safety

A fisherman whose right arm was amputated as a result of an accident on a railway level crossing in eastern Taiwan appealed for an increased railway safety campaign yesterday.

Yang Wen-huei (楊文輝) called for more safety measures when he told his story at a public hearing sponsored by DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-lang (蔡煌瑯) and Legislator Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰).

Yang said that one drizzly evening two years ago, he and his wife were preparing to go fishing. As they were negotiating a level crossing on a seaside railway line in Shihcheng, Ilan, the fishing rod he was carrying on his shoulder came too close to the railway's overhead power cable, causing a powerful electrical arc that electrocuted him.

Although he was rushed to the hospital, his right arm had to be amputated and he lost his job. Another husband and wife who went fishing this past April were knocked unconscious by an electric shock at the same place and then runover by a train.

Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation director-general Chen Shu-lang (陳淑蘭) asked why the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) has failed to post extra warning signs at the crossing, even though it knows that the area is frequently used by anglers.

Tsai and Cho noted that between 1998 and last year, the death toll due to railway accidents was 630, nine of which were electrocutions. The injured totaled 744, 21 from electrocution.

Of the electrocution accidents, 30 percent were fatal, while the injured were disabled, causing loss of livelihood and suffering for the families involved.

The legislators demanded that the TRA step up its safety campaign by alerting the public to the potential danger of using level crossings, setting up safety gates and posting warning signs along the railway.

Also attending the public hearing were Chou Chun-hsiang (卓遵餉), a commissioner from the Department of Railways and Highways of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, as well as Hsu Ta-wen (徐達文), deputy administrator of TRA. They promised to review current practices and improve safety.
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