Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) officials said yesterday that the agency has asked Taiwan Rolling Stock Co (TRSC), the manufacturer of EMU700 commuter trains, to immediately address technical problems found in some of its train carriages, including some already in service.
The light-emitting-diode (LED) panel in each car, for example, occasionally displays incorrect information, while the onboard broadcasting system sometimes fails to inform the passengers of stations. Some carriage doors have also malfunctioned.
For the train cars that are in use, the TRA has requested that the TRSC address the problems by a specified time. For carriages undergoing testing, the contract requires the TRA to halt test runs if any one problem appears five days in a row. The TRA will not allow the company to resume test runs until the problems are addressed, it said.
As of yesterday, the TRSC had delivered 88 carriages, the TRA said. The company was unable to deliver another 32 carriages this month as planned, and it faces penalties totaling NT$4 million (US$121,200).
The TRA has just completed testing of another set of trains. Six more sets are now being tested.
The TRA said the TRSC has been slow to address problems, which has delayed the testing schedule. On average, it has had to postpone the scheduled launch of each set of carriages by about six weeks, it said.
The TRA said its contract with TRSC entitled it to seek compensation, but what worries it most is the possible lack of replacements if the two sets of EMU700 trains break down.
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