Five disciplined over Taiwan Railways Shanjia Station overhead line failure; EMU900 pantographs replaced

Central News Agency, Taipei, May 23. An overhead line failure at Taiwan Railways' Shanjia Station on March 27 this year affected 201 trains and caused a cumulative delay of over 20,000 minutes. The disciplinary results were released recently, with a total of five people receiving demerits. Taiwan Railways has also replaced the pantographs of the EMU900 electric multiple units with third-generation integrated pantographs. The overhead line failure at Shanjia Station occurred on the morning of March 27 and normal operations were restored starting with the first train the next day. The incident affected 201 trains, with cumulative delays exceeding 20,000 minutes. According to the Taiwan Railways investigation report, there were three major causes: first, the design of the first-generation collector shoe on the EMU900 was flawed, lacking sufficient strength, and the carbon brushes peeled off, causing it to bounce and snag the overhead line; second, the driver and the on-board inspector failed to inspect the pantograph as required; and third, poor operational dispatch and information communication led to severe train delays. Regarding this incident, Taiwan Railways disciplined five employees, including the locomotive depot chief, deputy chief of inspection and repair, inspection team leader, inspector, and driver, all of whom received demerits. The depot chief was also transferred to a non-supervisory position. Taiwan Railways explained that the case has been reviewed by the company's accident review committee and will be processed according to procedures, including approval by the performance committee. Regarding improvements and preventive measures, Taiwan Railways pointed out that the EMU900 pantographs were updated to third-generation integrated pantographs by the end of April, and the Locomotive Department has completed training for drivers on the standard operating procedures for EMU900 pantograph abnormalities.