A fire broke out on March 11 on a railway track at the Taipei MRT’s National Taiwan University Hospital Station, but the Taipei Metro Operations Control Center let the train pass against regulations, a councilor told a news conference at the Taipei City Council yesterday.
The driver stopped the train right after the fire was detected and reported it to the control center, which then asked the driver to speed past the section without checking the situation, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Chien Hsu-pei (簡舒培) said, citing a whistle-blower.
Locals reported that black smoke was drifting from the MRT station, but operator Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) offered no explanation, DPP Taipei city councilor candidate Shao Wei-lun (邵維倫) said.
Photo: CNA
Shao said research showed that one of the insulating base plates on track fastenings broke down, causing the electric current to flow out of the rail and generating heat that led to the fire.
TRTC said that similar incidents had occurred four times from 2015 to 2017.
From reviewing these incidents, TRTC said it understood that there were no combustible materials beneath the train and the fire on the isolated base plate would not spread to other components.
The company added that the fire might start again after being extinguished since the current generates heat as it flows.
As such, when such incidents occur, MRT trains can pass safely at a speed of 40kph to avoid inconveniencing passengers, the company said.
DPP Taipei city councilor candidate Chen Hsien-wei (陳賢蔚) said that when a similar incident happened on April 5, 2015, on a track between Houshanpi and Kunyang stations, TRTC asked all passengers to change to other trains in two minutes and cut off the electricity to kill the fire.
Service was resumed in about 20 minutes, after the situation was clarified and safety was assured, he said.
However, this time around, TRTC put the train back in service after four minutes without checking the tracks, which was unprofessional, he added.
Chien criticized TRTC chairman Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) for touting the new Metro Corner at Nanjing Fuxing Station on his Facebook page on the day of the incident while ignoring the risks posed to the public.
Chien said Lee should resign immediately.
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