The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) should install barriers and detectors on slopes along the railways to avoid intrusion of foreign objects on railway tracks, a railway expert said yesterday.
The speed of a Mass Rapid Transit or a light rail system train is about 20kph to 60kph, and their risk of impact hazard is low, said National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology electronics engineering professor Chang Chien Jia-jen (張簡嘉壬), who is also the director of the university’s railway technology center.
The high-speed rail system, on the other hand, can operate at up to 300kph, Chang Chien said.
As such, its slope protection system is integrated with the train system to minimize impact hazards, he said.
“The speed of TRA trains has increased from 80kph to 90kph to 130kph to 150kph. However, its trains are not integrated with slope detectors, which increases security risks,” he said, adding that the TRA should protect its railway tracks similar to the high-speed rail system.
Chang Chien said that the Taroko Express derailment on Friday and a Puyuma Express derailment in 2018 both happened at curves.
Both are tilting trains, which means that they can tilt to counter the centrifugal force when traveling through curves and do not need to slow down, he said.
“I would suggest that the TRA reconsider if it is necessary to require both express trains to slow down when passing through curves, particularly if the curve is blocking the driver’s line of sight,” he added.
In the short term, the railway agency should identify possible risk factors along the railway tracks, Chang Chien said, adding that barriers and slope detectors should be installed at high-risk sections.
The agency should install transponders at curves that would be integrated with automatic train protection systems, which would automatically slow down the train if a foreign object enters the railway tracks, he said.
In the long run, the agency should find ways to stabilize slopes, as detectors alone cannot prevent the intrusion of foreign objects, he said.
The TRA said it has budgeted NT$275 million (US$9.64 million) to install slope warning systems at 25 high-risk railway sections as part of a six-year plan to improve the safety of the railway system, adding that it plans to complete installing the systems next year.
No slope alarm system has been installed at the spot where Friday’s derailment occurred, the agency said.
“We have asked the TRA to consider if there are other sections where foreign objects could intrude,” in light of the accident, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS