A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections.
The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said.
The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating.
Photo: Hou Cheng-hsu, Taipei Times
Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top of the hour, 20 minutes past and 40 minutes past, it said.
Passengers who arrive at their destination 30 to 60 minutes late would be offered a 50 percent refund, while those who arrive more than an hour late or do not use their tickets may receive a full refund, the HSR said.
Passengers with reserved-seat tickets who board trains today could also receive a refund of the price difference at any HSR ticket office within one year of the ticket's departure date, the railway said.
Photo: CNA
At the start of a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee this morning, which was delayed due to the HSR malfunction causing officials to be late, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that emergency response protocols had been activated and the Taiwan Railways Corp is coordinating alternative transport.
A full system inspection would not be carried out until tonight, he added.
The HSR carries up to 240,000 passengers per day and more than 300,000 on holidays, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) said to emphasize the impact of the malfunction.
The disruption has not only delayed the committee meeting, but also significantly affected people’s work, daily life and schooling, Lee said.
There were 25 rail operation incidents in 2024 and 43 last year, as well as multiple delays already occurring this year, he said, highlighting the need for the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to address these issues as soon as possible.
Signaling failures are rare, but pose a serious disruption, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said, urging authorities to prepare for the possibility that normal reserved-seat services may not resume today.
Passengers traveling today should be informed in advance so they can arrive at their station early or otherwise adjust their plans, Hung said.
The issue has been reported to safety authorities and is being investigated, but as the system cannot be fully shut down, repairs cannot be carried out yet, Lin said, adding that the reduced service would continue for now.
The last major HSR delay occurred on April 25, 2013. It was also the first large-scale, system-wide suspension that was not caused by a natural disaster since its opening six years prior.
At that time, a malfunction in the signaling equipment at Taichung Station prevented trains from departing for the first service of the day, leading to a suspension of services for about four hours.
Service gradually resumed on the Taipei-Hsinchu section starting at about 9:30am, and full operations were restored at 11:30am.
A total of 21 southbound and 23 northbound trains were canceled, affecting about 35,000 passengers.
Additional reporting by CNA
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. Philippine authorities were assessing the damage from the quake, with the office of civil defense seeking to verifying initial reports that 15 people had been killed and 129 injured in the region, mostly from falling debris. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province,
‘GRAY ZONE’ PRESSURE: Beijing’s activities are intended to create the deceitful impression that China has jurisdiction over the area around Taiwan, the CGA said Taiwan’s rights over its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone must not be violated by any country, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that it will not accept any unprovoked actions. The council issued the remarks in response to the China Coast Guard conducting maritime enforcement drills near eastern Taiwan and claiming to fully exercise China’s maritime administrative law enforcement authority. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has been closely monitoring the situation and is taking concrete steps to defend the nation’s sovereignty and secure its waters, the council said. China has no sovereign rights over the waters off eastern
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
RSS