Video shows shocking contrast between reduced Puyuma speed and 140 kph crash in NE Taiwan

影片顯示東北台普悠瑪減速和時速40公里間驚人對比

Japanese video shows the shocking contrast between Puyuma Express at reduced speed and 140 kph derailment in Taiwan's Yilan County


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- While there is still debate over the exact cause of Sunday's (Oct. 21) deadly derailment of a Puyuma Express train, which claimed the lives of 18 and injured 210 in Taiwan's Yilan County, a video posted by a Japanese netizen clearly shows the dramatic difference in speed between a train traveling within the speed limit and the ill-fated train.

At 4:50 p.m. Sunday afternoon, the Puyuma express train No. 6432 , was headed south from Yilan bound for southeastern city of Taitung (台東), when it entered a curved area of track at Xinma Station, which has a radius of 300 meters and a maximum speed limit of 75 kilometers per hour (kph). However, for reasons that are still being investigated, including the disabling of Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, the train was clocked at 140 kph two minutes before the accident, according to court records.

The driver, 48-year-old Yu Chen-chung (尤振仲), who normally works as a scheduling supervisor, said that though power problems affected the accuracy of the speedometer, he had manual speed observation training and he had estimated the speed to be 82 to 83 kph. After recovering from his injuries enough to appear in court on Tuesday, he blamed himself for the accident and waived his right to an attorney

A Japanese netizen on Oct. 22 uploaded video footage to YouTube from Asahi Shimbun of a Puyuma train safely passing through the curve at Xinma Station one hour before the derailment. He then placed that footage at the top of the screen and inserted video of train No. 6432 entering the exact same location below.

In the two videos, it is clear that the ill-fated train is traveling at a substantially higher speed than the train an hour earlier. While the train an hour earlier slowly and safely cruises through the curve, No. 6432 can be seen barreling in at a much faster clip, before rolling on its left side and shooting out flames, sparks, and smoke as the horrific derailment unfolds.