Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai says that the Taiwan Railways Administration has replaced poor-quality railway brake shoes on its EMU500 series trains.
That comes at the end of a year of accidents that has led to heavy scrutiny into the railway administration’s safety practices.
On April 2, a Taroko Express train derailed in a fatal crash that was the deadliest Taiwan had seen in decades. Then, on December 1, a steel pile being used at one of the railway administration’s construction sites fell and crashed onto another Taroko express train. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
On Friday the transportation minister responded to media reports that the railway administration has been using poor-quality, Chinese-made brake shoes on its EMU500 series trains, something that could affect the train’s ability to brake. The minister said that these brake shoes have already been replaced.
He said that all parts used on Taiwan’s trains are tested before being installed, but that many problems with parts are only discovered after they are in use.
He also said that the railway administration operates 23 types of trains, meaning that the administration requires a wide variety of train parts. He said that securing all of these parts is a problem for the administration, because some are out of production. He said that this has forced the railway administration to find substitute parts in some cases.
However, he said he will demand that the administration be more rigorous in its selection of train parts.
He said that his project of reforming the railway administration is still ongoing, and that there will be issues as the reform process continues. He said that the transportation ministry and the railway administration need to deal with these problems proactively. He said that reforming the railway administration remains the transportation ministry’s chief goal.