Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp missed multiple opportunities to intervene in the moments before and after an MRT train crashed into a fallen crane boom, Taichung City councilors said yesterday, adding that a better response might have prevented the fatal incident.
On Wednesday, a boom separated from a crane atop a residential building under construction near the Feng-le Park MRT Station in Nantun District (南屯), falling 31 stories onto the tracks shortly before the train departed from the station and ran into the metal wreckage.
A woman was killed and 10 people were injured.
Photo: Tang Tsai-hsin, Taipei Times.
Suspension cables holding the crane as it was being disassembled reportedly snapped, causing the incident.
Taichung City Councilor Chen Shu-hua (陳淑華), convener of the Transportation and Land Administration Committee, said that video and communication records captured by the MRT Operation Control Center showed 16 warnings indicating electrical anomalies were triggered in 11 seconds after the boom hit the tracks between the Feng-le Park and Daqing stations.
Staff at the center phoned Taiwan Power Co and Taichung Mass Rapid Transit’s engineering division, but no one called Feng-le Park Station, where the alerts were centered, Chen said.
After receiving reports that people were injured, a call to the Taichung City Fire Bureau was hindered as the staff at the center wasted time trying to pinpoint where the emergency responders were needed, she said.
The incident has highlighted a lack of training and alertness among staff at the center, which resulted in firefighters spending a precious minute confirming where they should go, she said.
The video footage showed that only three people were in the center, while regulations say there should be six, Chen said, adding that after the incident, only two were on duty.
Taichung Mass Rapid Transit spokesman Hsu Tai-ming (許泰銘) said that the center did respond to the power anomaly alerts and followed procedure to assess the possible causes.
The company recognizes that changes are required to its guidelines and staff would be trained to assess whether objects on the rails might be the cause of power anomaly warnings, Hsu said.
Emergency buttons on platforms are circuit breakers that are primarily for use if staff working on the rails are in danger, he said.
Asked about the number of staff on duty at the center, Hsu said that three had been on a lunch break at the time of the crash.
The company would ensure that at least four people are on duty at all times, he added.
On Friday, Lin Liang-tai (林良泰) tendered his resignation as acting chairman of Taichung Mass Rapid Transit.
I “have completed my mission of the current stage at the Taichung MRT,” Lin wrote on Facebook.
He also thanked “the Taichung MRT and everyone.”
The Taichung City Government said that Lin offered to resign after it accused him of applauding MRT staff and inappropriate comments following the crash.
On Thursday, Control Yuan members Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲), Wang Li-jen (王麗珍) and Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said in a statement that they would investigate whether human or systemic negligence by the construction company using the crane, the MRT operator or government regulators played a role in the incident.
The sequence of events leading to the crash started at a Highwealth Construction worksite, the statement said.
The members would examine the emergency response guidelines of the Taichung MRT to determine whether “human or systemic negligence” was a decisive factor, it said.
The probe would examine whether there are sufficient safety regulations in place for construction projects near MRT lines, it said.
The members would assess whether government regulators had exercised proper oversight over Highwealth Construction, which has a record of multiple worksite safety incidents in the past few years, the statement added.
They would examine whether the construction firm was removing the crane in accordance with safety regulations, and whether those rules need to be changed, it said.
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