Puyuma train derailed in Yilan (21 October 2018)

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
, ,
61

Currently delays over 2 hours. 150 minutes. They are rescheduling tickets or sending people by bus.

Big mess in Hualien station. They are showing a group of foreigners -look like students- lying on the floor, playing with their phones, waiting patiently.

62

Yeah, my first thought was that train transportation here is very safe. Trains wonā€™t derail even when they crash - which is rarely. But the times it has happened before it was sabotage.

63

Then again, there was this case 2 years ago. No sabotage other than the possibility of corruption.

64

Crash news on CNN, Al Jaseera, BBC and NHK -Hualien a favorite destination among Japanese tourists.

65

Itā€™s entirely possible that TRA has reformed its company culture over the past decade. But frankly speaking I was appalled to see how these guys went about their business when I first arrived in Taiwan in the early 2000sā€”workers strolling across the tracks when signs warned people not to do so; habitually late trains; etc etc.

In short, this looked to my eyes like a terrible organization, something like China Scarelines in the bad old days. Has TRA improved? Have their been reforms in management and company culture? I wonder if anyone has knowledge about these mattersā€”or if there have been any media reports about it (example: the recent reports on how Taipei Metro upped its game to become one of the best systems in Asia).

Guy

66

IMG_20181021_214016
IMG_20181021_2140161600Ɨ830 76.8 KB

Indeed corruption and cost cutting may have a part, as the trains were refitted and refurbished with a complete overhaul just LAST year.

The plot thickensā€¦

67

Sons of a bitch.

1 Like
68

Or tragically the song remains the same.

Guy

2 Likes
69

First page of google results when searching ā€œTaiwan Rail corruption newsā€:

Guy

2 Likes
70

They are adding flights to Hualien. Currently there is only one airline flying there.

Second press conferenceā€¦22 dead. 171 wounded.

EDIT

The small kids hurt belong to a dance group. There was also a group of students from junior high.

Driver right now having brain surgery.

71

I keep thinking when the older generations die off the younger generation will have a shot at making things better here. But then I am reminded by my wife that the younger generation are no better as they were raised to act with the same standards as their elders. Those few that manage to rise above and see the possibilities of a better Taiwan end up leaving.

This tragedy, sadly, is par for course. Makes me sick that they bring in the best of the best to design and install these trains. Bring in foreign experts to train staff. Then it all goes to shit because they fail to maintain things. Training, maintenance/upkeep and safety standards all go swirling down the crapper.

Why? Greed, corruption and laziness. Welcome to Taiwan (and the vast majority of Asiaā€¦besides maybe Japan and Singapore).

If they discover that corners were cut to pad someoneā€™s pockets, that person should lose everything they have. Lives were lost and destroyed.

5 Likes
72

Says on the news that itā€™s a woman.

73

US citizen then. Hope she is not alone. It is awful to be alone at the hospital.

There are volunteers as usual giving out hot food to first responders. Plus Yilan hostels are receiving the wounded for free.

74

Thatā€™s what I was thinking. Sheā€™s a long way from homeā€¦if sheā€™s a tourist, that is.

75

Doctor being interviewed right now says she is in ICU and that her wound/hurt in the thorax, delicate condition.

Even if a resident, she could live here alone.

76

That must have been earlier. When I posted I was on the way from Ruifang to Songshan and was worried that there would be huge delays as the trains on that route originate in Yilan/Hualien/Taitung, but the trains from Yilan were running 10-15 minutes late and the trains from Hualien were running 25-30 minutes late, not bad considering the circumstances.

77

Interestingly, they interviewed a retired TRA expert who claims that the automatic system controls the speed, so speeding might not be the cause of the accident. Faulty parts, OTOH, he does agree might be the case.

All witnesses do state the train stopped several times, seemed to have some kind of difficulty. Then it drove faster than usual, they claim. Then PUM.

78

Yep. But they are still talking about sending more buses/trains/planes. Guess when they move the crash there will be more delays. And the trains going out must be packed like sardines.

And president Tsai will be there tomorrow morning, meaning security delays.

79

All data is out: she is a 43 year old US passport holder originally from China, tourist. Still in ICU.

80

I saw a report that Ma Ying-jeou was either already on the scene or on his way (to arrive before Tsai).

It must be an election year or something.