The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday said that it aims to have a speed limit backup system installed on 52 Taroko and Puyuma Express trains by the end of this year, to ensure that the train operates below 60kph when the automatic train protection (ATP) system is turned off or out of order.
The railway operator and the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology are to develop the system together at the request of the Executive Yuan after a comprehensive safety evaluation of the railway system, following a Puyuma Express derailment on Oct. 21, 2018, in which 18 people were killed and 215 injured.
Investigations by the Executive Yuan and Taiwan Transportation Safety Board found that the accident happened because the train driver had turned off the ATP system and operated the train above the speed limit while passing through a curve.
The ATP system is patented technology, which is difficult to develop, the TRA said.
Given the diversity of trains in its fleet, the research and development costs for a similar system would average NT$700,000 per set, up from the NT$300,000 it had previously estimated, the railway agency added.
After a careful assessment, the TRA said that it would expedite enforcement of the Executive Yuan’s policy, and with a designated budget of NT$2.45 billion (US$ 82.949 million), it would install the speed control backup system on 350 trains, down from 805 that it had planned previously.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications on July 30 approved the proposed adjustments, the railway agency said.
The TRA said that it is finalizing technical specifications required for the speed control backup system
It is scheduled to sign a development contract with the institute by the end of next month, it added.
The TRA said that it has revised the operating procedures of the ATP systems, as well as the enforcement rules for other safety measures.
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