An elderly woman who jumped down onto the tracks at a Taichung railway station to pick up a NT$100 bill faces a maximum fine of NT$50,000, Taiwan Railway Corp said yesterday.
Taiwan Railway said the incident occurred at 11:04am yesterday, when a female passenger on platform 1 at Taichung Station jumped down onto the tracks to retrieve a banknote.
Unable to climb back up on her own, the woman was pulled back onto the platform with the help of other passengers, it said, adding that police are investigating the incident.
Photo: CNA
In a video posted on Threads, an older woman in sunglasses and a mask can be seen looking down the tracks to make sure no trains are approaching, then sitting down and slowly scooting off the edge of the platform until she disappears from view.
“A-ma, Don’t jump down there for a few dollars, the train is coming in three minutes. Luckily they pulled her back up,” one person wrote.
According to the Railway Act (鐵路法), pedestrians and vehicles that trespass on railway lines or prohibited areas in stations can be fined NT$10,000 to NT$50,000, Taiwan Railway said.
If the contravention affects railway traffic safety and is deemed serious, the penalty can be increased, it said.
In cases where a passenger’s belongings fall onto the tracks, they should request assistance from station staff and refrain from trespassing on the track area, which could disrupt train operations and endanger safety, it said.
The Railway Police Bureau said it would review surveillance video footage of the incident, and after identifying the person, would refer her to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to be fined for contraventions of the act.
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