Trains on the Taipei Metro’s elevated Wenhu (Brown) Line would run at reduced speeds during sudden downpours, lightning storms and other bad weather conditions to prevent stoppages, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday.
To keep the driverless trains running, the system’s safety mechanism has been adjusted to automatically reduce their speeds by 75 percent when bad weather occurs, TRTC said in a statement.
Taipei Metro personnel would also be dispatched to board trains for monitoring purposes, the company said.
Photo: CNA
The announcement was made after a Wenhu Line train stopped for about 10 minutes during rush hour on May 7, causing service disruptions on the line.
The train lost traction as it had rained that day, triggering a safety mechanism that stopped the driverless function and could only be overridden manually, the company said.
The incident caused a public backlash, prompting TRTC to convene a meeting of experts on Wednesday to conduct a comprehensive review of the Wenhu Line system, which was built in such a way that it would cease operations in typhoon conditions.
The line needs to be made more weather resistant as extreme climate conditions become more common, TRTC said yesterday.
The section that runs through Neihu District (內湖) has steel tracks, making it more prone to slippage in heavy rain.
In addition to applying an anti-slip coating for better traction, trains would also reduce speeds to improve safety and reduce delays, the company said.
There was a similar incident on Thursday, when a Wenhu Line train stopped amid a thunderstorm, with a driver required to override the system and get it moving again.
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