Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp on Friday announced proposals to improve its protocols after an MRT train crashed into a fallen construction boom, killing a passenger.
On Wednesday last week, 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 Green Line train departed from the station and ran into the metal wreckage.
Legal academic and indigenous rights advocate Lin Shu-ya (林淑雅) was killed and 10 people were injured.
Photo courtesy of Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp via CNA
Taichung MRT proposed three changes to its protocols together with the introduction of two potential hardware updates.
The first change would enhance and standardize its emergency alert hand signals, it said.
If a station employee witnesses a potential accident, they would be required to raise and cross their arms to form an “x” to warn employees on the train, giving them time to contact the system’s operation center and request that the train be stopped.
The second proposal is to encourage passengers who witness an accident to prevent the doors from closing, which would stop the train from leaving the station.
The third proposal would seek to ensure that Taichung MRT employees on trains can readily access their tool bags so it would be easier to stop the train.
Two hardware updates are also to be introduced, including emergency buttons in stations and smart detection devices that are better at recognizing obstacles than existing equipment, the company said.
Lin was discovered underneath a train car about 51 minutes after the collision occurred.
The train ran into the boom at 12:27pm, prompting MRT employees to evacuate passengers and help the injured at 12:58pm.
Company president Chuang Ming-tsung (莊明璁) said that Lin was not discovered for nearly an hour because the company’s standard operating procedures require employees to search the inside of cars once an emergency occurs and the doors open.
Current procedures do not include searching the outside and underneath the train cars, Chuang said, adding that the company would meet to discuss changing the procedure.
The Taiwan Bar Association on Saturday released a joint statement to convey their condolences at losing a distinguished colleague and suggested improvements to public safety procedures.
The association said that companies should employ impartial third-party experts to inspect construction sites using large-scale machinery.
It also said that traffic restrictions should be implemented in areas where construction work is occurring to allow for easy access for first responders in the event of an accident.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS