The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) said it would spend two days inspecting platforms and railway routes around the nation, after a new tilting train got stuck in a platform at the Keelung Railway Station.
The new tilting train, also known as the “Puyuma Express,” arrived at Keelung Port from Japan on Thursday.
The 16 train carriages were scheduled to be taken to the TRA’s maintenance depot in Cidu (七堵) for testing, via the Keelung Railway Station.
However, the train became wedged in the station’s second platform as it was about to pass through a curve on the southbound route, causing scratching on the protection case of the undercarriages on train cars No. 2 and No. 4.
TRA crew had to make an incision 3cm to 5cm deep into the platform to help move the train.
Four TRA officials received warnings or demerits over the incident.
Asked about the cause of the incident, the administration said that it had failed to measure the gap between the platform and the railway track, which was narrowed during a construction project of the Railway Reconstruction Bureau.
The protection case of the train’s undercarriage hit the platform as a result of the narrower gap, the administration said.
Despite the rather embarrassing incident, the administration said the incident would not affect the scheduled functioning of any of the trains.
The administration added that it would inspect railway routes and platforms throughout the nation to ensure that the same incident would not happen again.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS