Engineering:2023 Taichung crane collapse

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Short description: Railway accident in Taiwan

Template:Infobox public transit accident On May 10, 2023, a construction crane fell 30 floors from a construction site of Highwealth Construction Corp onto a moving Taichung MRT Green line train south of Feng-le Park metro station, Taichung, Taiwan, killing 1 and injuring 10 passengers on board.[1][2][3]

The deceased passenger, legal scholar Lin Shu-ya (zh), 52, was ejected out of the train carriage upon impact, resulting in her being crushed under the same train.[1][4]

One passenger on board, a Canadian national, claimed that the driverless train was stationary when the crane fell onto the tracks and the train then proceeded to drive and collide straight onto the fallen crane.[5][6]

Investigation

The onboard train attendant followed company procedures to contact the control center about the crane obstructing the track.[7] However, the control center at Taichung MRT would require 20 seconds to activate the emergency brakes remotely, which was insufficient to prevent the collision.[7] The passenger emergency buttons on board the train were not designed to immediately stop the train.[7]

The Taichung District Prosecutors Office questioned Taichung MRT staff involved in the incident and ten Highwealth Construction Corp personnel who were responsible for the operation of the construction crane.[7]

The operations control center detected a loss of power caused by the fallen crane, but power was automatically restored shortly after.[8] Half of the control center staff were on meal break at time of the incident.[8]

The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board concluded in June 2024 that the primary reasons for the collapse were a failure to ensure proper operation of a tower crane and a lack of clear measures for restricting or prohibiting construction on either side of Taichung Metro tracks.[9] The lack of an emergency train stop feature at stations was also cited as a probable cause of the accident.[10]

Timeline of incident

At a press conference, Taichung MRT revealed that based on CCTV footage of the train and the station before the fallen crane, the following events occurred:[7][11]

  • 12:26:50 – Trainset 03/04 entered the station
  • 12:27:04 – Construction crane fell onto the track, breaching the noise barrier
  • 12:27:14 – Station security reported incident to station supervisor
  • 12:27:22 – Trainset 03/04 doors closes
  • 12:27:26 – Staff onboard trainset 03/04 found track obstruction, contacted control center and attempted to open the manual driving control panel to stop the train
  • 12:27:30 – Trainset 03/04 departed the station
  • 12:27:45 – Trainset 03/04 collided with the fallen construction crane on track
  • 12:27:52 – Trainset 03/04 came to a complete stop

Reactions

The acting chairman of Taichung MRT at the press conference explaining timeline of the collapse. He resigned shortly after this conference.[12]

Taichung MRT said they intended to seek at least TWD 0.2 billion (USD6.5 million) in compensation against Highwealth Construction Corp for damage and losses resulting from the collapse.[11]

Other metro operators in Taiwan began to review and secure ongoing construction sites that were situated near the tracks.[13]

Taipei Metro admitted that the existing procedures regarding driverless trains, such as the Wenhu Line, were inadequate to stop the train in time under a similar scenario as the track circuit would not be broken and detect a fallen crane, and staff opening the manual driving panel or informing the control centre to cut off power would have taken too long.[13] Taipei Metro promised to develop new procedures to deal with such scenarios, and in the meantime metro staff were authorized to deliberately obstruct the platform or train doors from closing in order to prevent the train from moving off.[13]

The acting chairman of Taichung MRT resigned after he was criticized for his performance post-collapse.[12]

Taichung MRT proposed changes to procedures to prevent collapse of a similar nature. Changes in protocol included introducing a new standardized hand signal for staff indicating emergency stop is necessary, encouraging staff and passengers to prevent the doors from closing by obstructing the doors to prevent a driverless train from departing after witnessing an incident, and relocating the key to a separate, more accessible holder to allow roving staff to more easily open the manual driving panel to access the emergency stop button.[14] Taichung MRT also promised updates to emergency devices at stations and obstruction detection devices that will allow a train to stop in time or prevent its departure in similar circumstances.[14]

In August 2024, two workers were indicted on charges of negligent manslaughter.[15]

See also

  • 2021 Hualien train derailment – collision with construction machinery that fell onto the track
  • 2026 Sikhio train disaster – construction crane fell onto passenger train in Thailand

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Everington, Keoni (May 10, 2023). "1 dead, 8 injured after crane crashes onto MRT train in central Taiwan". Taiwan News. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4887525. 
  2. ↑ Su Mu-chun; Chao Li-yen; Flor Wang; Matthew Mazzetta (May 10, 2023). "1 dead, 8 injured after crane boom collapses on MRT in Taichung (update)". Focus News Taiwan. https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202305100009. 
  3. ↑ Chung, Jake (May 11, 2023). "Train hits fallen crane boom in Taichung, killing one". Taipei Times. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2023/05/11/2003799579. 
  4. ↑ Huang, Guo-fang; Chao, Li-yen; Liu, Shih-yi; Chang, Hsiung-feng; Chen, Chun-hua; Tsai, Chih-ming; Lo, James (May 11, 2023). "Legal scholar who died in Taichung MRT accident remembered as spirited advocate". Central News Agency. https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202305110023. 
  5. ↑ Charlier, Phillip (May 10, 2023). "Witness says metro train was stopped when crane fell onto tracks: train then drove into it". Taiwan English News. https://taiwanenglishnews.com/witness-says-metro-train-was-stopped-when-crane-fell-onto-tracks-train-then-drove-into-it/. 
  6. ↑ "Tragedy in Taiwan: crane boom collapses and crashes on subway" (in en-PH). https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/tragedy-in-taiwan-crane-boom-collapses-and-crashes-on-subway/ss-AA1aZMEl. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Su Mu-chun; Hau Hsueh-ching; Matthew Mazzetta (May 11, 2023). "41 seconds from track intrusion to fatal Taichung MRT crash, video shows". Focus News Taiwan. https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202305110019. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "錯過16次告警？行控中心作業程序遭質疑 中捷回應了". TTV News. May 13, 2023. https://news.ttv.com.tw/news/11205130001900W. 
  9. ↑ Shan, Shelley (June 21, 2024). "Board cites failures in MRT incident". Taipei Times. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2024/06/21/2003819681. 
  10. ↑ "Released Final Report on TMRT Train Collision with Foreign Object Occurrence at Feng-le Park Station". Taiwan Transportation Safety Board. June 20, 2024. https://www.ttsb.gov.tw/media/7754/%E8%87%BA%E4%B8%AD%E6%8D%B7%E9%81%8B%E6%A1%88%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E6%96%B0%E8%81%9E%E7%A8%BF.pdf. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 莊儱宇 (May 11, 2023). Yahoo News Taiwan. https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%90%8A%E8%87%82%E7%A0%B8%E8%BB%8A%E5%BB%82%E9%87%801%E6%AD%BB10%E5%82%B7-%E5%8F%B0%E4%B8%AD%E6%8D%B7%E9%81%8B%E5%85%AC%E5%B8%83%E5%BD%B1%E5%83%8F%E9%82%84%E5%8E%9F%E9%97%9C%E9%8D%B5%E3%80%8C%E5%A5%AA%E5%91%BD1%E5%88%86%E9%90%98%E3%80%8D%E5%B0%87%E5%90%91%E5%BB%A0%E5%95%86%E6%B1%82%E5%84%9F%E8%87%B3%E5%B0%912%E5%84%84-005657477.html. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chao Li-yen; Lee Hsin-Yin (May 12, 2023). "Acting Taichung MRT chairman tenders resignation". Focus Taiwan. https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202305120023. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 劉彥宜 (May 11, 2023). China Times. https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20230511004330-260405?chdtv. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "MRT company proposes changes after fatal crash". Taipei Times. May 15, 2023. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2023/05/15/2003799815. 
  15. ↑ Chang, Jui-chen; Yeh, Esme (August 30, 2024). "Two charged in Taichung MRT crash last year". Taipei Times. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2024/08/30/2003823002. 

Template:Railway accidents and incidents in 2023 Template:Railway accidents and incidents in Taiwan



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