Switch glitch affects 14,000 high speed rail passengers (update)
2013/12/15 21:22:36
Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) A problem with a switch near Taiwan High Speed Rail's Taichung Station caused 21 trains to be delayed on Sunday, affecting some 14,000 passengers before the problem was repaired.
Officials at THSR's Taichung Station said a switch sent out incorrect signals around 12:17 p.m., causing one north-bound train and one south-bound train to stop near the station.
Maintenance staff were immediately called to the scene to fix the problem. Before operations returned to normal at 13:50, 10 south- bound trains and 11 north-bound trains were affected, the officials said.
The glitch forced the company's Zuoying Station in southern Taiwan to cancel one train and delay two others, though the delay was less than 30 minutes.
The latest incident was the seventh of its kind this year and the 54th since the rail service was launched seven years ago, according to the Bureau of High Speed Rail under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
Of the 54 switch glitches, only one caused suspension of services, said the bureau. That happened on July 29, 2010, when a switch at the Taipei Station disrupted service between Taipei and Banqiao in New Taipei for two hours.
All other switch troubles led only to train delays, according to the bureau.
(By Cheng Chi-feng, Chen Shu-fen, Wang Shu-fen and S.C. Chang)
Enditem/ROBERT/sc
