Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) yesterday apologized after the latest malfunction on the MRT’s Wenshan-Neihu Line sparked new concerns about the line’s safety, and promised to solve the problem as soon as possible.
The emergency brake intensifier malfunctioned on one of the trains at 9:47am on Monday, causing a burning smell in the cars because of unnecessary friction between the brake pad and brake disk.
The TRTC later stopped the train at Xihu MRT Station and evacuated all 200 passengers.
Monday’s incident marked the sixth malfunction of the line’s emergency brake intensifier since its test run period in 2008.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday lashed out at the TRTC and the Taipei City Government for failing to solve the problem over the past two years and putting passengers’ safety at risk. They demanded the company find a solution as soon as possible.
“The problem should have been solved when it was first discovered during test runs in 2008, but it is still occurring. The fires on the old Muzha line could happen again if those in charge continue to play down the incident,” DPP Taipei City Councilor Liu Yao-ren (劉燿仁) said yesterday at the Taipei City Council.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Hung Chien-yi (洪健益) also shared his concerns, urging the TRTC to improve the temperature-detecting devices installed on the wheels.
Taipei Secretariat Director Yang Hsi-an (楊錫安) yesterday acknowledged that the city government had assumed the emergency brake system malfunction was a “one-off problem” when it first occurred in February 2008, and did not make a thorough inspection of the system until it occurred a third time.
“We thought it was a one-off occurrence the first time, but we later demanded that the system builder, Bombardier Inc, solve the problem immediately. We won’t let cars catch fire again,” he said.
The old Muzha Line experienced two fires during testing in 1993 when train wheels caught fire from too much friction between the brake pad and brake disk due to a malfunction of the emergency brake system.
Chairman of the TRTC Richard Chen (陳椿亮) said the company would work with Bombardier to improve the quality of the wheels’ temperature detection system to prevent overheating and fires.
Yang said the city government and the TRTC would continue improving the quality of the Wenshan-Neihu Line and increase the stability of the line.
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