Taiwan Railway Administration

Train driver dies after being hit by freight train while crossing the tracks

police at scene of fatal train accident
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , , ,

A train driver about to start his shift died after he was hit and run over by a freight train while he was crossing the tracks at Yilan Station yesterday, Wednesday evening, July 27. Liberty Times reported that the 51-year-old freight train driver, named Wu was crossing the tracks from Platform 2 to reach his train No.7,557 when he was hit by freight train No.7,556 as it entered the station at 8:33 pm. Firefighters said that Wu was obviously dead

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Snake on a train: passengers evacuated after boa constrictor appears on luggage rack

snake on luggage rack on train
Animals 
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Passengers were evacuated from a train car after a boa constrictor was spotted slithering along the luggage rack on a Taiwan Railways limited express train this morning, April 18. The conductor on the Ziqiang Class limited express No. 272 from Miaoli to Hualien received a report of a snake on the luggage racks of car No. 12 as the train arrived at Ruifang Station, New Taipei City at 8:19 am. The conductor ordered passengers out of the car and notified

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Female appointed Taipei Main Station Station Master for first time in history

Taipei Main Station stationmaster handover ceremony
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

For the first time in its 135-year history, a female has been appointed as station master at Taipei Main Station, and began duties after a handover ceremony today, February 7. During the ceremony to appoint the 25th station master of Taiwan Railway Administration’s largest train station, outgoing station master Tu Wei-ting (涂維庭) handed responsibility for the management of Taiwan’s largest railway station over to 43-year-old Hu Yongzhi (胡詠芝). Hu holds a master’s degree in transportation and logistics management from National

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Water buffalo wanders onto train tracks in Hualien County

buffalo on train tracks in Hualien County, Taiwan
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Express trains were ordered to slow down, but no major delays were reported after a water buffalo wandered onto the tracks in Fuli Township, Hualien County this morning. According to Taiwan Railways Administration, the station master on duty at Dongzhu Station spotted the buffalo on the tracks as it trotted by the station platform at 6:25 am. The station master notified the local police station, and railway police stationed at Yuli. Police officers drove the buffalo off the tracks and

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Express train hit by steel rail raises spectre of past disaster

taroko train at scene of accident
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A windscreen was damaged, but no injuries were reported, after a steel rail from a trackside construction project fell onto the tracks and hit a train in New Taipei City this morning, Tuesday, December 1. Taiwan Rail Administration (TRA) reported that the Taroko class express train was hit by a steel rail at 8:52 am between Dali and Fulong stations, causing the windscreen to be cracked. The steel rail fell from a slope stabilization project around 7-8 meters away from

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HSR, TRA to reduce train services during epidemic alert period as passenger numbers plummet

TRA EMU 900 train
Travel and Tourism 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Taiwan’s High Speed Rail passenger numbers are down more than 71%, and Taiwan Railways passenger demand is down more than 65% as the nation goes into Level 3 epidemic alert, and train services will be reduced in response, HSR announced yesterday, and TRA announced today, May 19. HSR said that it would run 171 fewer services per week from May 21 to June 10, after daily passenger volume fell 71.08% over the daily average for March this year. TRA passenger

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First EMU3000 intercity train will arrive in June: expected to relieve congestion on east coast line

Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) announced today, April 11, that the first of 50 newly-purchased EMU3000 trains will be delivered in June, and priority will be given to reducing congestion on the Eastern Trunk Line. The EMU3000 will function as a multipurpose, non-tilting intercity train, and is expected to increase passenger capacity by 40% on the east coast line, effectively solving the problem of excess demand during peak travel periods. The trains were purchased from Hitachi Corporation, Japan, in a record-breaking

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Taiwan train crash a “Hell on Earth:” even experienced search and rescue personnel brought to tears

Taroko class express train
Disaster 
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The aftermath of a train crash and derailment in Hualien County was a “purgatory on earth” said an exhausted member of a search and rescue team, as as he exited the tunnel at the end of a long shift. “I have served on many rescue missions, but this is the first time I shed tears.” On the evening of April 2, 2021, around 9 hours after a packed-to-capacity express train travelling at more than 100 kilometers per hour smashed into

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Train narrowly misses being buried by landslide: services suspended between Taipei and Yilan

train stopped ahead of major landslide
Travel and Tourism 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

Two trains were stopped either side of an area being monitored by railway personnel shortly before a slope collapsed onto the railway tracks this morning, December 4. The location between Ruifang and Huotong Stations on the East Trunk Line was being monitored after a minor landslide on November 30 caused Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) to reduce two way traffic to one line. Two line traffic was restored yesterday, December 3. According to reports in United Daily News at around 8:30

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First of 52 new commuter trains to arrive in Taiwan Saturday

EMU900 Taiwan commuter train
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is preparing to take delivery of the first shipment of new EMU900 local service trains which are expected to arrive October 24. Built in Korea by Hyundai Rotem, the trains are being touted as a big improvement in local train services. With a total cost of NT$25.3 billion (US$873 million), TRA has ordered 52 trains at 10 cars per train. The first 20 cars will arrive at the Port of Hualien, Saturday. The EMU900 will gradually

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Fight breaks out on train over hamster occupying priority seat

altercation on train
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment

An elderly man and a younger woman got into a physical altercation on a local commuter train in Taipei yesterday, after the woman refused to move a hamster cage occupying the priority seat. At around 5:30 pm yesterday, a young woman placed a caged hamster on a priority seat as the train left Nangang Station. An elderly man who wanted to sit demanded the woman remove the cage. However, a confrontation ensued after the woman refused to remove the cage,

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