Full rail service resumes 3 days after deadly Puyuma Express derailment in NE Taiwan

東北台致命普悠瑪號出軌3天後全線恢復通車

Dual-track service resumed at scene of deadly derailment of Puyuma Express in Taiwan's Yilan


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Dual-track service has resumed this morning (Oct. 24) at the site of Sunday's deadly derailment of a Puyuma Express in Taiwan's Yilan County.

The Puyuma express train No. 6432 , headed from northern Taiwan to the south-eastern city of Taitung (台東), had a total of 366 passengers onboard when it came off the tracks close to the Xinma Station in Su'ao at 4:50 p.m. Sunday afternoon (Oct. 21), killing 18 and injuring 190. All eight carriages of the train flew off the tracks and five overturned, badly twisting and warping the rails of the southbound section of the dual-track line.

After undergoing emergency repairs, two-way service was resumed on the single remaining track at 5:12 a.m. on Oct. 22, with the No. 4102 train passing the scene of the accident at 5:54 a.m. In the three days since the accident, all units from the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) have been toiling around the clock to repair the damaged rails.

This morning, service officially resumed on the southbound line, with the No. 4102 train arriving at Xinma Station at 5:54 a.m., with several passengers boarding and disembarking before departing again, reported CNA. After the accident, TRA mobilized over 700 personnel who worked approximately 60 hours to repair the badly mangled section of track, according to the report.