DERAILMENT PROBE: The driver of the train was released on NT$500,000 bail yesterday morning after the Yilan District Court rejected a request from prosecutors to detain him
Taipei Times
Date: Oct 24, 2018
By: Ann Maxon / Staff reporter
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is to be overhauled and a national
Taitung Railway Station Director Yang Shun-an, left, yesterday sheds a tear as people in Taitung County attend a ceremony for the victims of the Puyuma Express train derailment in Yilan County on Sunday. Photo: Chen Hsien-yi, Taipei Times
transportation safety committee established to investigate any future transportation accident, Premier William Lai (賴清德) told lawmakers yesterday.
“All Puyuma Express trains will go through safety tests and the TRA will undergo an extensive review,” he said during a question-and-answer session when asked about Sunday’s derailment in Yilan County that killed 18 passengers and left 187 injured.
The government plans to merge the agencies now responsible for the safety of aviation, water and road transport and railways into a single committee, he said, promising to have a plan for the committee ready by the end of next month.
Previous train accidents were investigated by a TRA committee, but its credibility has long been questioned. [FULL STORY]
