Commercial operations on Taichung’s first MRT rail line would not begin as scheduled on Saturday, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said yesterday.
The MRT system’s Green Line began trial runs on Nov. 16, but they were suspended because of a major malfunction on one of the trains at the Taichung High Speed Rail Station terminal on Nov. 21.
After an investigation, the train’s Japanese manufacturer, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, said that a US-made coupling connecting the two-carriage train had broken, the MRT system’s operator, Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp said.
Photo: CNA
The Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems, which is responsible for developing the Taichung MRT system, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries were asked to conduct a comprehensive inspection on all 18 MRT trains to be used on the system.
After receiving a report on the inspection results and problem-solving measures on Friday and holding a meeting with experts, the Taichung City Government postponed the formal launch of the MRT line, Lu said.
Although the department and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have found the cause of the problem and submitted a repair schedule, the city government believes the reason for the breakdown has yet to be conclusively determined and the schedule is overly optimistic, Lu said.
For safety’s sake, the city government decided to postpone the launch, she added.
Lu apologized to Taichung residents for having to make the decision, saying the city government would establish an MRT malfunction review committee made up of experts to help handle the matter more objectively and efficiently.
The city government has sent back a report from the department, requesting further improvements and would seek compensation from the department, Lu said.
Meanwhile, Taichung Transportation Bureau Director-General Yeh Chao-fu (葉昭甫) said that as the broken coupling did not conform to design standards, the city government had initially asked the department and the Japanese manufacturer to carry out a comprehensive inspection of all trains on the system.
However, the report submitted on Friday failed to convince the city government of the safety of the MRT system, so a review committee of experts would be established, Yeh said.
Any new report would have to be approved by the committee, with a formal launch date yet be decided, Yeh added.
The Green Line stretches 16.71km from Beitun Main Station to Taichung High Speed Rail Station and is to serve 18 stations. A complete journey would take about 32 minutes.
Construction of the Green Line began in 2009. The project cost NT$59.3 billion (US$2.08 billion at the current exchange rate), including NT$32.8 billion provided by the central government.
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