The Maokong Gondola system experienced another equipment malfunction yesterday afternoon, forcing Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) to shut down the system for about four hours to inspect it.
The incident happened at Corner Two Station when TRTC workers heard some unusual noise on the headstock of a wheel, and the company immediately sent all passengers to nearby stations at 3:10pm before shutting down the system for inspections in order to prevent visitors from being trapped mid-air, the TRTC said.
The cable car resumed service at 7pm after the problem was fixed.
The incident happened only days after an equipment failure at the Corner One Station last Saturday caused a breakdown and left 323 visitors trapped in the cabins for about two hours.
Taipei City Government said that before Saturday's breakdown, a construction consultant had also heard some unusual noise in the morning, which was believed to be related to the equipment failure.
The service was also temporarily canceled at noon yesterday due to a thundershower, and resumed at 2:20pm before being canceled again for mechanical problems.
Earlier yesterday, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) once again shrugged off growing concerns over the safety of the system, insisting that the preliminary inspection found no urgent reason to halt operations.
"We continue to regard passengers' safety as our first priority," he said at Taipei City Hall.
Hau said the city government is demanding its departments, TRTC and POMA of France, the system's builder, to present an inspection and evaluation report on the system as soon as possible.
Taipei City Secretariat Deputy Director Yang Hsi-an (
While director of Taipei City's information department, Yang Hsiao-tung (
"Those passengers were trapped mid-air for more than two hours on such a hot day. It's reasonable to ask for more than NT$10,000," DPP Taipei City Councilor Lee Wen-ying (李文英) said at Taipei City Council.
TRTC gave NT$1,058 and free tickets to each of the 323 visitors after the breakdown on Saturday.
Chen Po-ching (陳柏菁), a Taipei City Consumer Protection Ombudsman, agreed that passengers deserved better compensation, and suggested that they should apply for national compensation.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
RSS