FERRIED BY BUSES: The Taiwan Railways Administration said it expects to clear the railway line of debris on Tuesday at the earliest, as long as there are no new landslides

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 06, 2020
By: Cheng Wei-chi and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

About 30,000 people yesterday were diverted to intercity buses after a landslide in northeastern Taiwan the day before damaged a railway line and resulted in disruptions to services provided by the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA).

The TRA said it is continuing to liaise with bus companies and hopes to increase the number of trips to expedite the transportation of passengers.

The landslide deposited 3,800m3 of rock, dirt and debris onto a section of tracks between Rueifang (瑞芳) and Houtong (猴硐) stations in New Taipei City at about 9am on Friday, disrupting transportation.

One train traveling near the site barely avoided running into the towering mound of debris, stopping about 30m from where the side of a hill alongside the tracks had collapsed, after being alerted by TRA staff monitoring the area, the agency said.    [FULL  STORY]