Taichung MRT has resumed normal operations.
Most likely yes, howeber accessing them quickly is another matter. Make them too accessible and act too fast and you will probably end up with more injuries through misuse than the way they are currently set up.
Of course adding a driver with eyes to see ahead and think ‘Oh there is a crane in my way’ would probably be the best solution. But then factor that with the number of driver error crashes a year around the world vs. driverless crashes like this and you’ll probably find driverless has a better safety record.
So supervised driverless is probably the way to go with the big red ‘Off’ button in front of the supervisor.
Isn’t that what they had?
Not sure I have never ridden the TaiChung MRT, if there was a supervisor then it might well have had the big red button hidden under a locked panel.
I think the Taipei heavy lines have it done right, automatic driverless system with someone sitting in the cab pushing the door open/close and go buttons. Those supervisors have to stay awake in that situation as the train won’t move off without them.
Taipei MRT trains have an emergency brake that can be pulled by passengers. I’d assume the Taichung MRT have the same thing.
EDIT: No mention of an emergency brake on the safety page of the Taichung MRT:
EDIT 2: Detailed accident timeline in this article. Attendant had 13 seconds to press the emergency stop - but he couldn’t get the key out of his bag in time:
Do the automated train not have sensors? Surely they can “see” track obstructions, I mean shit does happen.
It shouldn’t require a key that takes time to retrieve to stop the train, it should be a big red button that can be activated at a moment’s notice. Otherwise the staff is just a waste of resource.
Appears they do, but it didn’t work in this case. From the Yahoo article above (using Google Translate):
27 In minutes and 45 seconds the train hit the boom, in 27 minutes and 48 seconds the train obstacle detection and emergency braking were activated,
To be honest with you I wasn’t too surprised that this happened, Taichung MRT just seem plagued with problems…
I feel a little bad for this person. “TMRT attendant had 13 seconds to find key, unlock control panel, hit emergency brake button…” is a multi-step process that most conductors will never have to face, let alone do it in ten seconds under intense pressure. She’s going to get fired, live with the guilt of not being quick enough, be subject to ruinous lawsuits, and probably get crucified on social media by the usual neckbeard crowd.
I’m sure the Taichung MRT corp. and the city would like like to have a scapegoat, but hopefully it’s better since it’s not TRA.
Seeing the video from inside it’s certainly lucky for quite a few people to only walk away with injuries instead of being flung out and run over by the train like the professor who died.
Well at least the attendant has come away physically okay. Given how long it takes my gf to find her keys in her bag and the fact she does that everyday I doubt anyone can think 14 seconds was ever enough for this lady.
My question is why require a key at all? Shouldn’t this be a big red button anyone can mash?
Plus even if they mashed the button in time it’s not like a train can stop on a dime.
This is 100 percent the fault of the construction company.
Some people looked at the crane and still got on the mrt.
Also, why didn’t she stop the doors from closing? Surely that would have stopped the train from going.
Obviously easy to say after the fact.
I would assume because someone accidentally or maliciously hitting emergency brakes could cause serious injuries to many passengers on the MRT, especially once it got up to speed.
Vides from the station and station are both weird.
Lots of people noticed the fallen crane, and appears there was adequate time to stop the train.
She didn’t see in time. In the station CCTV footage she’s looking the wrong way.
First-person view of Taichung’s MRT accident
I hope SOP will change. In this day and age, having a vital, life saving brake under key makes no sense. Biometric activated would save more lives, as a slam/stop movement would be faster. Heck, a numeric pad perhaps? But even if you carry a key on a necklace, the whole action takes too long.
Same with obstacle detection. We have AI now. If AI even senses a pigeon on the tracks, train won’t move, how about that? Or at least have station master also access the car/track camera.
That’s why you have huge fines and cctv cameras for stuff like this. Like the Taipei mrt platforms have an emergency button that when pressed causes all trains to stop, like for example if someone fell off the platform. There’s huge fines for misuse too.
Actually shouldn’t the attendant have their finger on the button at all times because shit can happen anytime.
It makes me lose faith in automated trains honestly. Computers can react much faster than humans can and doesn’t sleep or get tired.
That Reddit thread has some details about the deceased passenger:
A widely respected Law professor based in Taichung passed away in this accident. She was an activist for Aboriginal Rights and fought to eradicate poverty, and a well known scholar in Transitional Justice. She was very passionate about fighting against human rights violations through judicial redress, political reforms, I’m very sad that we lost her.