A passenger who pulled an emergency brake that brought an EMU3000 intercity express train to an abrupt stop in Taitung County last week could be fined up to NT$1 million (US$31,859).
The Railway Police Bureau’s Hualien Precinct on Monday said that the passenger, a Taitung resident, could be fined NT$10,000 to NT$1 million under Article 68-1 of the Railway Act (鐵路法).
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to review the case.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Railways Administration
The Hualian railway police on Monday called in the 28-year-old man — identified by his surname, Hsieh (謝) — for questioning about the incident on Friday involving the No. 422 Puyuma Tzu-Chiang train.
The train came to an unplanned stop at Taitung’s Jinlun Station (金崙站) after the emergency brake in the train’s ninth car was pulled, the Hualien railway police said.
Hsieh told the bureau that he fell asleep on the train and pulled the brake because he had missed his stop.
Passengers aboard the No. 422 train, traveling between Taitung and Hualien County, had to disembark and board another train to their final destination after the delay.
Railway police urged passengers who miss their stops to seek assistance from the conductor and refrain from opening or operating any train equipment to avoid endangering others.
Taiwan Railway Corp said the emergency brake is only to be used by a train conductor in an emergency.
Upon inspection, the train company on Sunday said that train No. 422 was not damaged by the sudden stop and that the brake was later returned to its normal position.
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