Despite months of testing and preparation, Taipei's rapid transit system may be crippled by the Y2K computer bug tonight, officials said yesterday.
"We don't dare say that we're 100 percent ready. We've tested, and everything has passed. But there's always a possibility that something could happen," said director-general of the Department of Rapid Transit Systems Chiang Yao-tsung (
Trains, power and communications systems may all be affected, although safety is not likely to be a factor, department officials said.
"The fear is that it won't work, not that safety will be affected," said Fang Juang-lih (
Trains will run continuously from the first train this morning until 11pm tomorrow to ensure safety on the line and to encourage people to take the MRT to various millennium celebrations around the city, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (
If the power or signal computers are affected when the clock strikes midnight, mechanical brakes on trains can be activated, Chiang said. Doors open manually from the inside in the event that trains stop in a tunnel.
The MRT system passed a Y2K evaluation by the Cabinet's task force on the millennium bug in June, Chiang said.
The system's main control center will be staffed by additional engineers from DORTS, which was in charge of construction of the network, and the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, which runs and maintains it.
Trains are all being run locally instead of from the main control center, so failure of the main computer system would not affect trains, Chiang said.
Fire sprinklers in stations may trip off automatically at midnight, but they can be shut off manually in each station, Fang said.
Ticket vending machines may also break down.
"If they do, well, I guess it's free rides for everyone," Chiang said.
MRT passengers and station attendants were sanguine about the effects of the Y2K bug on service.
"I think they're ready. I'm sure the government has thought of things we would never think of. They've tested everything, I think," said Chang Hui-chin (
"The government has spent a lot of time and money on testing for the Y2K bug. I'm sure it's fine," said Hank Huang, another regular Taipei commuter.
Both Chang and Huang said while they were not afraid of being on an MRT train at midnight, neither of them had any plans to do so.
"I'd be more afraid of taking a commercial airplane at midnight," Huang said. "They could crash. At least if the MRT broke down, we could walk to wherever we wanted to go."
A station attendant said he was a little nervous about being one of two people working at the Kuting Station tonight.
"I've heard they're ready ... but if the Y2K bug strikes, a lot of passengers are going to be really unhappy," he said.
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