Measures to reduce accidents at railroad crossings nationwide are part of a six-year railway safety plan, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said on Monday.
Accidents at railway crossings fell to only 12 last year, but have rebounded this year, with 11 in the first six months alone, the TRA said.
The measures include installing large signs on gantries above every crossing to inform people that a train is coming and from which direction, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Railways Administration
Flashing signals would be installed on both sides of the road at crossings, the agency said, adding that there would be four sets of emergency buttons, up from two.
The safety improvements would be completed by the end of next month, it said.
New automatic systems to detect objects intruding on tracks would be installed at all 293 crossings on its routes, the TRA said.
The new system detects intruding objects using radar and thermal induction technology, which improves its sensitivity, it said.
The current system detects objects between 75cm and 1.5m in height, while the new system detects objects that are from 30cm to 3m tall, the agency said.
When an object is detected, the information would be relayed to train drivers so they can respond quickly to an emergency situation, the TRA said, adding that the system would be activated at 100 crossings by the end of this year.
Systems at the remaining crossings would be activated by the end of next year, it said.
The agency said that 1,200km of fiber optic cabling would be installed along its routes to replace copper cables, which would ensure the reliability and stability of its signal-monitoring system.
The project is to be completed by the end of this year, it said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS