The Taiwan Railways Administration plans to ask Hyundai Rotem to address a “craftsmanship flaw” in doors of EMU900 commuter trains, after they opened on their own several times over the past year, the agency said yesterday.
To replace its aging fleet, the nation’s largest railway operator spent NT$25.3 billion (US$909.09 million at the current exchange rate) on 520 EMU900 carriages from the South Korean rolling stock manufacturer. An EMU900-series train consists of 10 carriages.
Sixteen EMU900 trains have been delivered, of which 15 have been in operation since April last year. The agency is still testing one EMU900 train.
Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei Times
Problems with the EMU900 trains have been reported in the past 11 months.
On Sunday, three doors of an EMU900, train No. 1235, malfunctioned during operation. On Jan. 1, doors on another EMU900 train were unable to open normally. On Dec. 13 last year, train No. 1292 had malfunctioning carriage doors.
Agency officials said that they were concerned that a manufacturing flaw might only be the tip of the iceberg regarding problems with the model.
The agency said that its preliminary judgement was that the doors might have been installed improperly.
The installations were slanted, it said, adding that when a motor in an anti-pinch device at a door registers a large electrical current, it incorrectly opens the door.
The agency is to meet with Hyundai Rotem this week to discuss a comprehensive adjustment of all EMU900 trains, the agency said, adding that it has yet to fully accept the trains from the manufacturer.
The flaw should be corrected according to terms of the contract, and the manufacturer must correct problems with the trains, the agency said.
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