The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is to terminate its contract with Hung Yang Construction Co (虹揚營造) after one of its workers was hit by a northbound Taroko Express train near Yilan on Saturday morning, TRA Director-General Du Wei (杜微) said yesterday.
The agency and the Railway Police Bureau said that a male worker surnamed Wang (王), 52, was believed to have tried to cross the tracks as a shortcut to another platform.
After becoming aware of an approaching train, Wang attempted to backtrack, but was unable to get to safety in time, CCTV footage provided by the TRA showed.
The train made an emergency stop, but still hit the man before coming to a halt, the agency said, adding the train resumed its journey after 13 minutes.
The worker, who was conscious when taken to a hospital, had chest pain, a 4cm head laceration and likely fractured his left shoulder, medical personnel at the Yilan County Fire Department said.
Last year, the contractor won a NT$9 million (US$320,159) bid on a six-year platform renovation project in Yilan for the TRA, the the government’s e-procurement system Web site showed.
Tu said the worker’s actions constituted a breach of the company’s contract and that it would be fined NT$300,000 for a breach of the safety regulations.
The railway agency would also blacklist the contractor and not work with the company in the future, he added.
Since the accident, construction on TRA’s railway network has been suspended across the nation until the Railway Police Bureau completes site inspections.
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