The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) encountered its first setback during mandated test runs when one of its trains was forced to stop for two hours on Tuesday night owing to an abnormality detected in a railway track switching system.
At the request of the official inspection committee, the THSRC began another round of test runs this week. Fifteen trains are being tested.
Bureau of High Speed Rail Director-General Wu Fu-hsiang (吳福祥) said Tuesday's incident occurred when a train was conducted back and forth many times between platforms and the maintenance area.
On one occasion when the train's driver attempted to conduct the vehicle to the maintenance area, it was unable to move because its track switching system displayed a warning signal.
The operation was eventually completed at 11:30pm.
"This shows that the signaling system functioned properly [under the circumstances]," Wu said.
He added that the warning signal could have been triggered by a railway switch that had not returned to its proper position.
Why a switch might have failed to do so remains unknown, he said.
Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications Ho Nuan-hsuen (
He said that staff at the Taiwan Railway Administration, for example, did not have to brief him whenever there was a delay with their train services.
The inspection committee had ruled that if any accidents occurred during the latest round of tests they would have to start from scratch.
Ho said, however, that the ministry would determine what constituted an "accident" based on traffic regulations.
"Since no major accident occurred as a result of this technical problem, the scheduled high speed rail test runs do not have to start again from the beginning," Ho said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS