Wed, Jan 05, 2000 page2

• Officials to be punished for mishaps

  MASS RAPID TRANSIT Taipei City Government has announced punishments for those it believes responsible for the breakdowns that have dogged the recent openings of two new MRT lines; skeptics say the punishment is more symbolic than real

  • By Erin Prelypchan / STAFF REPORTER
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  Twenty-two officials were handed warnings yesterday for a series of breakdowns on Taipei's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network.

  The disciplinary measure was regarded as light in the wake of an announcement last week that the heads of the construction and operations arms of the transit system could lose their jobs.

  Director-general of the Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS), Chiang Yao-tsung (江耀宗), and chairman of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC), Li Po-wen (李博文), will be verbally reprimanded, while 20 other officials in charge of engineering, operations and maintenance would be given warnings and demerits, the Taipei City Government announced yesterday.

  The punishments follow a series of technical problems on the Panchiao-Nankang MRT line, which opened Dec. 24, and on the Hsintien line that opened on Nov. 11. The problems affected signal computers and electrical systems and inconvenienced an estimated one million passengers.

  Taipei City Government spokesperson Chin Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said on Dec. 27 that the mayor was considering a list of those responsible for the problems, and that Chiang and Li -- whose names were on the list -- could be replaced at the discretion of the mayor.

  Deputy Mayor Ou Chin-der (歐金德), an engineer by training, inspected the MRT network following the mishaps. He said last week that the problems were management rather than systems-related.

  DORTS spokesperson Wang Kuo-tsai (王國在) said his department would accept the punishments.

  "We provided a list of names [of those responsible], so we can accept the results ... there were no real surprises there," he said.

  TRTC representatives could not be reached for comment.

  Taipei City Councillor Ko Ching-sheng (柯景昇), who sits on the council's transportation committee, said he approved of the punishments.

  "I think the punishments were appropriate. The problems following the opening of the Panchiao-Nankang line caused a lot of inconvenience," Ko said.

  Observers from outside the political sphere were more skeptical.

  "The punishments were more symbolic than practical. If it were a real punishment, they would have been fired," said Jason Chang (張學孔), an engineering and transportation analyst at National Taiwan University.

  But replacing appointed officials such as Chiang and Li reflects badly on the administration that put them in place, and it also creates a shortage of skill where it is most needed, he said.

  "It's not easy to find people familiar with the MRT's operations and construction," Chang said.

  Observers were divided when asked how the punishments would improve the quality of service on the MRT.

  "I think it will definitely have an effect. It will remind MRT officials to supervise their subordinates more closely," Ko said.

  Longer, more thorough testing before the lines opened would also have improved service, Chang said.

  "MRT officials used the public as guinea pigs," he added.

  "The responsibility [for the problems] shouldn't just be placed on hired employees. Politicians should share the blame," he said, adding that political pressure to open the line early may have affected testing.

  Sometimes political pressure can be beneficial in getting infrastructure projects completed promptly, but sometimes it can affect quality, Chang said.

  In 1996, former mayor Huang Ta-chou (黃大洲) pushed the Mucha Line through transport ministry testing because of an impending election, Chang said.

  "We're seeing the same situation happening again," he said.

  DORTS director-general Chiang last week denied that political pressure led to the early opening of the line.

  "There was no political influence. We opened the line according to our own timetable. There's no way we could have sped up work that much just because of political pressure," he said.
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