The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday that it would replace all outdated batteries used in the Muzha Line's uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system this week.
The announcement came in the wake of a report yesterday by Apple Daily saying that 588, or about two-thirds, of the batteries used in the Muzha Line's UPS system had passed their expiry date years ago, leading to the two explosions at the Taipei Zoo MRT Station this month.
TRTC vice president Chang Huan-kwang (
The expired batteries had been in use for 10 years, and should have been replaced when they had been in use for eight years, he said.
"The replacement should be completed this week," he added.
Chang said that the explosions on Aug. 4 and Aug. 15 were not caused by expired batteries, but admitted that a preliminary investigation showed that the malfunctioning batteries had cracks on them even before the explosions.
Chen Chiang (陳強), chief of TRTC's medium-capacity transport division, said that it was looking into what caused the cracks.
"There might have already been problems when the batteries were purchased," Chen said. "Problems could also have occurred when the batteries were being recharged. Or, there might have been something wrong with the circuits in the machine room."
The UPS system, which provides backup power, switches on automatically in the event of a power failure. It provides power to the illuminating facilities and signals until the emergency generators are activated. The batteries need to be charged all the time, and must be able to endure high temperatures.
According to the Apple Daily report, the Muzha Line's UPS system uses 896 batteries made by several different firms.
The two battery explosions did not cause any injury.
The TRTC has also put out notices advising its employees to observe caution when entering machine rooms where batteries are placed.
The incident has once again exposed safety problems in the operation of Taipei's rapid transit system. In May 2004, maintenance crews accidentally triggered the fire alarm system while testing the emergency power generators. The gas emitted from the fire alarm system affected residents living around an MRT station. The case is still under investigation.
Another accident occurred after the celebrations on New Year's Eve last year, when crowds swarmed into the MRT's Taipei Main Station. Several people tripped and fell on the escalators, with one woman getting scalped as her hair got entangled in the escalator.
The company was fined NT$400,000 for failure to manage the crowd.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS