The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday proposed an amendment to railway regulations, allowing for surveillance of drivers’ cabins and additional training of personnel.
The ministry said the Regulations for Railway Transportation (鐵路行車規則) are due for wide-sweeping changes, as some clauses are outdated.
The amendment would allow the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) to install video and audio surveillance equipment in drivers’ cabins to improve railway security and oversight in the wake of the Oct. 21, 2018, derailment of a Puyuma Express train, which killed 18 people and injured more than 200.
The draft amendment also calls for additional training of railway personnel, changes to operation regulations, breath alcohol tests for staff before they can board a train and standards for employees to report physical ailments on the job, the ministry said.
Previous attempts to introduce such measures were hindered by opposition from drivers, the TRA said.
The amendment would give it the legal basis to implement the changes, it said, adding that it would discuss the potential policy changes with employees next week.
All of its EMU-500, EMU-600, EMU-700 and EMU-800 car models are being outfitted with surveillance systems, which was partly prompted by the killing of railway police officer Lee Cheng-han (李承翰) on July 3 last year, the TRA said.
Lee died from a stab wound inflicted by a 54-year-old man surnamed Cheng (鄭), who refused to pay full fare after he was found to have entered the train without a ticket.
The EMU-900 cars, which would eventually replace 589 cars, already have surveillance equipment installed, it said, adding that it plans to install surveillance systems on all Puyuma and Taroko series trains next year.
An unnamed driver yesterday said that drivers, due to the nature of their job, sometimes cannot leave their post to use the restroom, forcing them to use empty bottles in the cabin.
Surveillance footage of them relieving themselves would constitute a severe breach of privacy, he said.
Other drivers said they supported the measure, saying that some drivers were “too casual,” and the increased surveillance could improve their performance.
However, they added that footage should not be used as a basis to evaluate their performance.
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