Trains for the Sanying light-rail being built in New Taipei City were presented to the media yesterday, which have safety features that were added following a fatal accident on the Taichung MRT in May.
Cameras at the front of each train would work in tandem with an intrusion detection system in the event of an obstruction on the tracks, officials from the New Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems told a news conference in Sansia District (三峽), which the new line is to serve along with Yingge (鶯歌) and Tucheng (土城) districts.
The cameras would allow operators in the control room of the driverless system to view real-time images of trains on the system, the officials said.
Photo: CNA
The cameras were added after an incident on the Taichung MRT on May 10, in which a train plowed into a crane boom that had fallen onto the tracks, killing one passenger, they said.
Other new additions include a more easily accessible emergency stop button, widened gangway connections and a button for platform staff to open train doors to allow an evacuation, the officials said.
A two-car train displayed on Wednesday arrived in Taiwan on Aug. 10 and is the first of 29 units manufactured by Hitachi Rail Italy for use on the Sanying line, which is to connect Dingpu Station on the Taipei MRT Bannan (Blue) Line, the under-construction Taoyuan Metro green line and the MRT Taoyuan Airport Line.
Each train on the 14.29km medium-capacity Sanying line, which is to have 12 elevated stations, has 50 seats and can accommodate a maximum of 330 passengers, the New Taipei City Government said.
The Sanying line is expected to open in 2025, with construction delays pushing the date back from late this year.
Officials attributed the delays to the COVID-19 pandemic and disputes over land expropriations, as well as labor reforms in 2017 limiting the number of hours contractors can work.
Once services begin, travel times between Yingge and Taipei would be reduced by 20 minutes, the department said.
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