Issues have been addressed at a worksite at Yuanshan MRT Station, Taipei Rapid Transport Corp said on Wednesday, two weeks after debris tumbled from the elevated platform to a sidewalk.
The company made the comments after Taipei City Councilor Chung Pei-ling (鍾佩玲) released a photograph — apparently taken by an eyewitness — showing a piece of concrete on the sidewalk near the southern end of the station in Datong District (大同).
The debris seemed to be from a construction project to add sound barriers, Chung said.
Photo: CNA
However, there were no warning signs or fences beneath the worksite, she said.
The MRT operator said that it received a report from the public about fallen debris at 5pm on Aug. 15 and personnel were sent to cordon off the area.
No one was injured, it added.
A probe showed that a section of a parapet had broken off from the station’s southern face, which was being worked on by a subcontractor, it said.
Workers employed by the subcontractor had ignored safety procedures by removing structural bolts before detaching the section they were working on, causing the block to fall, it said.
The subcontractor has been fined NT$50,000 and ordered to review of its operational procedures, Taipei Rapid Transport said, adding that work would only be done at night in a bid to decrease the risk to public safety.
The work that caused the incident is not related to the sound barrier project, which is a separate project at the other end of the station, it added.
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