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TRA facing NT$2.5m fine after delaying incident notification
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) could face a fine of NT$2.5 million (US$89,439) for delayed notifications to the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board about incidents on its network, the board’s chairman said.
Article 9 of the Transportation Occurrences Investigation Act (運輸事故調查法) requires the TRA to notify the board within two hours of receipt of information about railway incidents. Failure to report such information within two hours could result in a fine of NT$500,000 to NT$2.5 million.
However, the TRA does not always report incidents on time, board chairman Young Hong-tsu (楊宏智) said, adding that the last time the railway agency failed to report such information before the deadline was on April 11, when a fire broke out on a northbound Tzuchiang Express train after it stopped at Jhungli Railway Station in Taoyuan.
As he showed a short clip of the train’s dashcam footage rounding the corner and colliding with the truck, Young said the driver and assistant – both of whom died in the crash – had tried to brake but had just seconds to react. “He tried his best in the hope of avoiding a disaster,” he said.
Young said the train would have needed about 500-600 metres to come to a complete stop, but had less than half that. The train was traveling at about 125km/h but slowed only to 121km/h before impact, the Taipei Times reported.
After derailing, the front carriages were crushed and mangled against the tunnel walls, killing dozens and trapping some passengers for hours. As recovery crews continued efforts to clear wreckage from the tunnel, investigators have focused on a construction vehicle that was parked on a maintenance road above the track before rolling down the hill side. The truck driver, 49-year-old Lee Yi-hsiang, has been detained, and prosecutors are seeking to determine if he
Taiwan Picks Up the Pieces in Aftermath of Deadly Train Crash
Authorities are investigating after a crane truck slid and fell in front of a passenger train, leading to a crash that killed 50 people.
April 09, 2021
The families of the victims in a train crash try to conjure their spirits near Taroko Gorge in Hualien, Taiwan on Saturday, April 3, 2021.
Credit: AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying
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Tearful apologies, promises of reform, political bickering, and an overwhelming sense of grief have marked the days following an April 2 train crash, Taiwan’s deadliest in decades.
Authorities continue to investigate after a passenger train collided with a crane truck and was derailed at the entrance of a tunnel north of Hualien. The crash killed 50 people and injured 202, according to Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC).
New evidence suggests driver sought to retrieve truck before crash: source
04/08/2021 09:42 PM
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Crane truck driver Lee Yi-hsiang (in yellow) escorted by police as he enters Hualien District Prosecutors Office on Thursday.
Taipei, April 8 (CNA) Newly surfaced evidence suggests that Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of the crane truck that caused the deadly train crash on April 2, tried but failed to maneuver his truck from where it had got stuck in roadside bushes shortly before the accident, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that based on new evidence, Lee had tried to extricate the truck with an excavator.