A slowdown on the Mucha Line of Taipei's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system yesterday morning created rush-hour delays that affected over 20,000 people.
An automatic alarm was triggered at the Linkuang Station at 4:23am yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp mechanics were unable to fix the problem before MRT services began at 6am, so they switched the train driving mode from automatic to manual.
Before the problem was solved at 7:27am, all trains running between Hsinhai and Nanking East Road stations could only travel at a speed of 18kph. The company also extended the train headway from three to six minutes during this period.
A student complained that it usually takes him 22 minutes from the first to the last station, but yesterday's slowdown meant his ride lasted 50 minutes.
The slowdown was the second major MRT incident in less than a week, coming only three days after mechanical problems on the Panchiao-Nankang Line forced about 100,000 commuters to seek alternatives routes.
In response to the incidents, Taipei City Bureau of Transportation Director Lin Chih-ying (林志盈) said that the TRTC has to look into the problems and strengthen its maintenance work.
Meanwhile, an investigation team was sent yesterday to inspect an MRT tunnel construction site in Kaohsiung where a construction worker was killed and four other people were injured.
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