The number of shunting accidents during Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) operations was relatively high in the past few years, mostly attributable to human factors, the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB) said yesterday.
A shunting accident refers to an incident that occurs during rail yard operations, when trains or railcars are being moved and rearranged.
The issue was discussed at the legislature’s Transportation Committee, where the board was scheduled to brief the lawmakers about its operation.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public via CNA
The number of shunting accidents did not decrease after the railway operator was converted into a state-owned corporation in 2024 from a state-run railway service, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said.
There were 14 incidents in 2022, 16 in 2023, and 20 in 2024 and last year, he said, adding that there were also some injuries.
A total of 76 shunting accidents have occurred since the TTSB was established in August 2019 and those incidents were caused mainly by human factors, TTSB Chairman Lin Shinn-der (林信得) said.
The three main types of shunting accidents were derailment (28 cases), switching errors (26) and collisions (13), Lin said.
Most shunting accidents occurred at a railway depot in Keelung’s Cidu District (七堵) and Hualien Locomotive Depot, he added.
The railway firm cannot simply say that they would work hard to address the problem without taking any actions, Hung said.
“If accidents happen frequently in these two depots because of personnel shortage or inadequate training, the company needs to tackle these issues instead of naming the problems every time an incident happens,” Hung said.
Five shunting accidents occurred from January to last month, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) said, adding that improvements should focus on the shunting route, the operating procedures of route planners, leadership during operations, the division of responsibilities in communication protocols, and the maintenance and management of yard signaling systems.
A factual report of two shunting accidents, which were related to collisions of rail cars, would be published in September following extensive interviews with the depot staff and an analysis of standardized operating procedures, Lin said.
Separately, Hung said that motorcycle lanes on the soon-to-open Danjiang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City are too narrow, adding that a single collision could easily cause congestion.
Ambulances would struggle reaching accident spots on the bridge, he said.
Rather than designated specific lanes for motorcycles, some suggest that the traffic can be managed more efficiently by having mixed traffic lanes, where all vehicles are obligated to observe the same speed limit, Hung said.
Lin said the board could advise the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to consider including not only car lanes but also motorcycle lanes in its road safety audit.
The issue can also be discussed at the board’s annual transport safety seminar, Lin said.
The Highway Bureau is in charge of building and maintaining the Danjiang Bridge and managing the traffic on it.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the bureau said the motorcycle lane is 2.5m wide and meets the highway design criteria.
Experts in a safety consulting group would refine the road conditions before the bridge opens to the public on May 12, it said.
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