A NT$15.8 million (US$562,558) settlement package has been offered to the families of those who died in a fatal train crash in Hualien County earlier this year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
On April 2, Taroko Express No. 408, traveling from New Taipei City to Taitung, derailed as it entered the Cingshuei Tunnel (清水隧道) in Hualien’s Sioulin Township (秀林) after it hit a crane truck that had slid down a slope from a work site onto the rails. Forty-nine people died and more than 200 were injured, making it the nation’s most devastating railway accident in decades.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) has authorized the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) to compensate those involved to avoid lengthy litigation and further harm, the ministry said.
The compensation package for the families of those who died, which includes a NT$100,000 consolation payment, has been sourced from public donations channeled through the ministry, it said.
The ministry on Tuesday spoke to all eligible families in an online briefing, 24 of whom agreed to accept the payment, it said, adding that 18 of the 24 have already signed the paperwork.
This figure represents slightly fewer than half of the families to whom payments are owed, the ministry said.
Payments have been made to nine families and two more are expected to receive the money tomorrow, it added.
The ministry said that some progress has been made on improving the nation’s railway system.
The TRA’s northern, central, southern and eastern districts are each to establish a coordination center to integrate administrative, construction, rolling stock management and electrical engineering operations, the ministry said.
The aim of the centers would be to improve communication and speed up decisionmaking, it said.
All construction along TRA rail lines has been suspended until the TRA completes safety targets, including inspections, improving worker safety education and reviewing construction safety plans, the ministry said.
Embankment obstruction alert systems are to be installed at 25 points on the TRA’s rail network, with 10 scheduled for this year and the other 15 next year, it added.
Radio communications equipment, computerized access controls and increased fines for safety contraventions by contractors are also being implemented as part of improvements to construction safety standards, it said.
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