The Puyuma Express running on the east coast saw at least two run-ins with cows and killed seven in the past two months, causing netizens to wonder whether the frequent accidents were caused by the color of the paint on the express or the motions of the train itself.
A Puyuma train ran into four cows between Jhihsyue Township (志學) and Shoufong (壽豐) in Hualien County on Nov. 4 last year, two of which were pregnant, causing six deaths.
The other cow was run over on Dec. 21, causing minor damage to the pilot device and denting the nose of the first car.
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said the accident on Dec. 21 caused a delay of 26 minutes and affected more than 375 passengers.
In response to comments on the Internet that the color of the Puyuma Express was the primary reason for the train’s frequent accidents in the last two months of last year, the TRA said that cows are color-blind.
Other netizens said the motion of the Puyuma Express tilting train causes the cows to attack the trains, likening it to the swaying of the cape in a matador’s hands.
The TRA says that both incidents were purely accidental and the administration is stepping up efforts to ask animal owners to keep their animals clear of trains.
According to the TRA, Article 57 of the Railway Act (鐵路法) states that animals are forbidden within 5m of the railway line, with those allowing them to stray facing fines of up to NT$7,500.
Offenders can also be imprisoned for up to six months for being a menace to public safety, the TRA said.
Hualien County Bureau of Agriculture official Huang Yao-hsing (黃耀興) said that the problem could stem from farmers allowing their cows to graze instead of keeping them in a pen, adding that the county government would step up efforts to see that regulations are obeyed.
Additional reporting by Wang Chin-yi and Lin Chia-chi
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