train accident

Train derails after landslide on Taiwan’s east coast: passengers evacuate in tunnel

passengers evacuate train in tunnel
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

The driver of an intercity express train and six passengers suffered minor injuries after a train derailed following a landslide at the entrance of a tunnel on Taiwan’s east coast line late this afternoon, Friday, June 21. According to reports, the Ziqiang Express EMU 3,000 express train, service number #229, was hit by rocks as it passed through the Heren Tunnel between Heren and Chongde Stations in Hualien County’s Xiulin Township at 4:50 pm. Pictures and video uploaded to social

Read more

Human remains found in tunnel 3 years after train disaster

remains and belongings of victims found in railway tunnel
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Grieving family members of the victims of one of Taiwan’s worst train disasters had old wounds reopened for the second time after human remains and belongings were found in a railway tunnel in Hualien County recently. The advocacy group “Tears of Taroko,” formed by family members of victims of the April 2, 2021, Hualien Train Derailment, issued a press release this morning, May 8, informing the public that a search of the Qingshui Tunnel had uncovered the remains of 11

Read more

Express train derailed by fallen rock as earthquake aftershocks continue to rattle Taiwan’s east coast

damaged derailed Puyuma express train
Earthquakes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An express train bound for Taipei City derailed after hitting a boulder that fell onto the tracks in last night, but fortunately nobody was injured in the accident. According to reports, the Puyuma express train #445 from Taitung to New Taipei City hit a boulder and derailed near Heping Train Station in Xiulin Township in Hualien County at 9:10 pm. The accident caused traffic in both directions of the railway to be stopped. None of the 146 passengers or staff

Read more

Victims’ remains found on train 2 years after disastrous train derailment

Railway engineers inspect Taroko Express train memorial
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Pieces of human skull, bloodied clothing, and personal belongings of victims were found in the wrecked carriage of a train that stands as a memorial to one of Taiwan’s worst train accidents in a railway park in northern Taiwan today, September 1. Police investigators and Taiwan Railway Administration staff made the findings during a carpet search of of the train car after a piece of skull was found by a representative of the victims’ families during a visit to the

Read more

Drunk driver slightly injured after crashing into east coast express train

damaged car after hitting train
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

A man driving while over the legal alcohol limit crashed into an express train on a level crossing in Hualien County this morning, but fortunately nobody on board the train was injured. According to reports, the Taroko Express train #401 bound for Taipei from Taitung City was passing through a level crossing in Xiulin Township at 6:44 am when a white sedan crashed into the third and fourth cars of the train. The driver of the car, named Lin, suffered

Read more

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

Read more

Driver dead after car crushed by train

firefighter with car crushed under train
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A man died after crashing his car and landing on railway tracks before being hit by a train in Chiayi County last night, April 7. At around 11:40 pm a 40-year-old resident of Tainan City, named Hsu was traveling northbound on Provincial Highway 1 in Shuishang Township, Chiayi County when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a roadside tree. Hsu’s black Toyota Altis sedan flew over a 1.5-meter-high fence onto railway tracks, and was then hit by

Read more

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

Read more

Train driver sentenced over derailment that took 18 lives, injured more than 200

Puyuma Express train derailed in Yilan County, Taiwan, October 21, 2018
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The driver of a train that derailed in Yilan County, Taiwan, in October 2018, was sentenced to a four-year, six-month prison term after being found guilty of professional negligence causing death, by the Yilan District Court today, Monday, October 18. The court found that Yu Chen-chung (尤振仲) was responsible for the inspection and passing of the Automatic Train Protection System (ATP), which Yu admitted he had turned off before the accident. The ATP was designed to automatically slow the train

Read more

Last 10 seconds of train dashcam shows driver had just a few seconds to react before derailment disaster

screenshot from train dashcam
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A video shown by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) at a press conference today showed that the driver of a train that derailed and crashed Friday had barely 3 seconds to react to an obstacle on the track. The 10-second video shows the train exiting from a tunnel and rounding a curve before a truck that had rolled onto the track comes into view at the six-second mark. The train is then seen colliding with the truck at 9

Read more

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

Taroko class express train
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

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

Read more