TRA trains mourn deaths of two drivers
REFORM: Premier Su Tseng-chang vowed to accelerate changes in the TRA, including installing smart surveillance systems to detect track intrusions and improve safety
By Lee Hsing Fang, Wang Chun-chi and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporters, staff writer, with CNA
Trains across the nation sounded their horns simultaneously yesterday morning to pay tribute to two train drivers killed in last week’s Taroko Express crash, while the Executive Yuan vowed to speed up reform of the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA).
More than 120 TRA trains sounded their horns at 9:28am yesterday the time when Taroko Express No. 408 hit a crane truck as it was about to enter the Cingshuei Tunnel (清水隧道) in Hualien’s Sioulin Township (秀林) to mourn the deaths of driver Yuan Chun-hsiu (袁淳修) and assistant driver Chiang Pei-feng (江沛峰).
SOLE SURVIVOR: An Amis family of four purchased standing tickets on the train after missing an earlier one to Hualien. Three died in Friday’s crashBy Lin Hsin-han, Wang Chun-chi and Lin Ching-lun / Staff reporters, with CNA
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday asked the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) to open an account to accept donations for victims of the Taroko Express No. 408 train crash and their families.
Su made the request in response to inquiries about where to donate to victims of Friday’s crash and their families.
As of 7pm yesterday, 51 people were reported dead and at least 188 injured after the train, heading from New Taipei City’s Shulin Railway Station for Taitung, hit a crane truck that had slid down a hill from a nearby construction site onto the rails, as the train was
A somber mood yesterday pervaded the crash site of Taroko Express No. 408, as families of those killed in the incident performed a “soul summoning” (招魂儀式), a traditional Taiwanese folk ritual to call for the deceased soul to return home.
The crash occurred at 9:28am on Friday when the train, which had departed from New Taipei City’s Shulin Railway Station for Taitung, slammed into a crane truck at the entrance of the Cingshuei Tunnel (清水隧道) in Hualien’s Sioulin Township (秀林).
As of 7pm yesterday, 51 fatalities had been reported, the Taiwan Railways Administration said.
Many grieving family members wept aloud and some needed
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