Trial runs on the first line of the Taichung MRT rail system, which were suspended after a malfunction on Saturday, could resume as soon as Tuesday next week, its operator said yesterday.
Services on the Green Line, which began trial runs on Monday last week, were initially suspended for 1.5 hours on Saturday afternoon after one of the trains reported an abnormality at the terminal of the Taichung High Speed Rail Station.
After an investigation, the system’s operator, Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp (TMRTC), later in the day said that all services would be suspended until the problem is resolved.
The train’s Japanese manufacturer, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, said that the breakdown involved a US-made coupling connecting the two-carriage train that broke, something Kawasaki said had “never happened before.”
Kawasaki has begun removing the couplings from all of the 18 trains running on the line and they would be submitted to a third-party manufacturer to check for defects, TMRTC said yesterday.
The couplings would then be reconnected for further test runs, TMRTC said, and if everything goes smoothly, Kawasaki would provide safety certificates for each train and trial runs on the line would resume.
The resumption could happen as soon as Tuesday next week, TMRTC said, but added that if the couplings are found to be defective, the suspension of services would continue until the parts are replaced.
A preliminary investigation report on the malfunction would be presented by Kawasaki before Dec. 7, it added.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) yesterday said that comprehensive checks would be conducted on all 18 MRT trains.
“We will not resume operations just for the sake of it,” she said, adding that the trial runs would resume only when it is completely safe to do so.
Despite the incident, the formal launch date of the city’s first MRT line is still set for Dec. 19, Taichung Transportation Bureau Director-General Yeh Chao-fu (葉昭甫) said on Sunday.
The 16.71km line runs from Beitun Main Station in the northeast to Taichung High Speed Rail Station in the southwest, serving 18 stations.
TMRTC plans to build three more MRT lines in the city under a wider plan to improve Taichung’s public transportation system.
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