Things went as smoothly as possible on the second day of high speed rail operations with crowds of passengers gathering at train stations to enjoy a weekend railway trip.
The only black marks were a six-minute delay on an early train from Taichung to Banciao (板橋) in Taipei County and a 68-year-old man who hurt his head when he slipped and missed his train.
The train departing from Taichung at 7am yesterday arrived at Banciao at 8:01am, instead of the scheduled 7:55am, making it the first-ever delay experienced by the new rail system.
The Chinese-language United Evening News quoted Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) executive director Ou Chin-der (
The report said this sent a signal to the train to start slowing down and eventually stop at a section near Taoyuan.
Ou apologized for the delay and said the company would review the incident to avoid any repetition.
To solve overbooking problems, THSRC yesterday provided an additional seven trains to carry surplus passengers, as well as offering each passenger a free ticket as a goodwill gesture.
Meanwhile, Chen Hsin-hsiung (
Chen claimed he missed his step because the escalator was travelling too fast but local cable TV channels quoted THSRC spokesman Arthur Chiang (
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