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.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS