The Taipei Broadcasting Station held an exclusive interview with Hu Jui-lin and Chiu Ming-san, foremen of the infrastructure division of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC), on Thursday last week. Chiu, who has worked for the TRTC for 15 years, said his job is to drive the railgrinder, which cost NT$400 million, to grind the rail tracks between 1.30am and 4am each night after the last metro train service, so as to reduce the noise and vibration produced when trains are running and provide a more comfortable riding experience. Hu, who joined the company 10 years ago, is responsible for cleaning the rail tracks, which prevents dirt and oil stains from blocking the track circuits.
When asked about the good and bad aspects of their work, Chiu, who has a family, said that at first his wife was very unhappy about his work routine, but in his view working for the TRTC gives him job stability, so he used that argument to gradually convince his family of the value of his job. He also takes his family out on trips when he is on holiday. Sometimes they get complaints from nearby residents for making too much noise while working in the middle of the night, but he maintained that this job offers a sense of accomplishment and mission. “We might intrude on your peace and quiet at night, but when the day comes we pay you back with a comfortable and quiet riding experience,” said Chiu.
Do they feel more tired physically because of having their days and nights reversed? Chiu said he chose this job precisely because he was a night owl and he was young, which made him physically competent for this work, but now that he is older and has a family this work routine no longer suits him so well. Hu also said that since he started this job his social circle has become smaller because his bedtime is different from normal people. However, he has gradually made friends with his colleagues instead.
Photo: Chung Hung-liang, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者鍾泓良
(Liberty Times, translated by Ethan Zhan)
台北廣播電台上週四播出捷運公司工務處領班胡瑞麟、 邱銘三專訪。進入捷運公司工作已有十五年的邱銘三說，他的工作是每晚捷運收班後凌晨一點半至上午四點間負責駕駛價值四億元的磨軌車研磨軌道，讓捷運行駛時可以減低噪音及震動，讓乘車更舒適。而進入北捷公司十年的胡瑞麟則負責清洗鐵軌，以免污穢、油漬阻礙軌道電路。
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government department of information and tourism
照片：台北市政府觀光傳播局提供
而談到他們的工作甘苦談，已經成家的邱銘三表示，起初妻子對他日夜顛倒的工作形態十分有意見，但他認為捷運公司是個穩定的工作，藉此慢慢說服家人，並利用例假日帶家人出遊。有時深夜工作噪音大被居民投訴，但他堅持這是份有成就感、使命感的工作。「晚上會吵到你們 ，但白天會還給你們一個舒適、安靜的乘車經驗。」
至於是否會因為日夜顛倒而讓身體較為疲憊？邱銘三說，他當初會選這項工作就是因為自己是夜貓子、又年輕，所以體力負荷上還好，但隨著年紀越來越大，加上又有家人，漸漸有點不適應。胡瑞麟也提到，從事這份工作後社交圈確實變比較小，因為跟正常人作息都不一樣，但會慢慢把同事當朋友。
〔自由時報記者鍾泓良〕
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