Trains for the Sanying light-rail being built in New Taipei City were presented to the media yesterday, which have safety features that were added following a fatal accident on the Taichung MRT in May.
Cameras at the front of each train would work in tandem with an intrusion detection system in the event of an obstruction on the tracks, officials from the New Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems told a news conference in Sansia District (三峽), which the new line is to serve along with Yingge (鶯歌) and Tucheng (土城) districts.
The cameras would allow operators in the control room of the driverless system to view real-time images of trains on the system, the officials said.
Photo: CNA
The cameras were added after an incident on the Taichung MRT on May 10, in which a train plowed into a crane boom that had fallen onto the tracks, killing one passenger, they said.
Other new additions include a more easily accessible emergency stop button, widened gangway connections and a button for platform staff to open train doors to allow an evacuation, the officials said.
A two-car train displayed on Wednesday arrived in Taiwan on Aug. 10 and is the first of 29 units manufactured by Hitachi Rail Italy for use on the Sanying line, which is to connect Dingpu Station on the Taipei MRT Bannan (Blue) Line, the under-construction Taoyuan Metro green line and the MRT Taoyuan Airport Line.
Each train on the 14.29km medium-capacity Sanying line, which is to have 12 elevated stations, has 50 seats and can accommodate a maximum of 330 passengers, the New Taipei City Government said.
The Sanying line is expected to open in 2025, with construction delays pushing the date back from late this year.
Officials attributed the delays to the COVID-19 pandemic and disputes over land expropriations, as well as labor reforms in 2017 limiting the number of hours contractors can work.
Once services begin, travel times between Yingge and Taipei would be reduced by 20 minutes, the department said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS