CRACK FOUND ON AIRPORT MRT TRACK, STEEL QUALITY QUESTIONED|機捷道岔軌道驚見裂縫 昨晚檢查修復

On Feb. 18, a crack was found along the Airport MRT line. After evaluating the crack, the Taoyuan Metro Company decided to continue public trial operations and only fixed the crack last night. Civil engineering experts warned that cracks, in general, do not appear this soon and pointed to the quality of the building materials used. They called on the Metro company to conduct a thorough investigation, find out the party accountable, and make the results known to the public. Intensive trial runs are underway before the Airport MRT launches its official operations on March 2. Maintenance workers spotted a 2-5 millimeter crack in a section of track at A9a emergency stops on the early morning of Feb. 18. They followed standard operation procedure and repaired the crack by means of fishplates and informed the Bureau of High Speed Rail, which constructed the line. ==CHUNG WEI-LI Chief Engineering, Bureau of High Speed Rail== The materials were prepared on the 20th. The repair will be conducted on the night of 21st. The electricity will be cut off and maintenance workers will go down the track to do the replacement. ==CHEN KAI-LING General Manager, Taoyuan Metro== The measures we have taken do not affect normal operations on the main line. So I think this will not affect the official operations. After an assessment, Taoyuan Metro said the crack would not affect the trial operations and traffic has been directed to another track. Because it took time to prepare the materials, the repair was conducted on the night of 21st with electricity cut off. Taoyuan Metro will conduct a full inspection since there are 92 other similar tracks on the line. No other cracks have been found at the moment. Civil engineering experts are concerned about the quality of steel because cracks should not appear until the track has been used for a long time. ==JAMES YU New Taipei City Prof. Civil Engineers Assoc.== After being used for some time, it is reasonable to see signs of normal wear and tear. Our Airport MRT line is new and has been used for only a few months or a year. I don't think it is normal to see it break down. I am wondering if there is something wrong with the steel. The tracks in question were produced by the famous Germany-based BWG company, Taoyuan Metro said, adding they were still under two-year warranty and the maintenance will not incur any costs. It will send the tracks back to the company and invite a third party to investigate the cause of the crack. TRANSLATED BY：BRYANT CHANG 機場捷運位在林口站和山鼻站間的側線，在這個月 18號被巡檢人員發現一處道岔軌道上出現裂縫，桃捷公司評估後認為不影響試營運，採取魚尾鈑夾固定後，在今天晚間斷電進行修復，並徹底檢視。而土木專家認為，通常鋼軌出現裂縫都是使用一段時間後才會發生，擔心是原廠材料有問題，呼籲桃捷公司要究責並公佈調查報告。 3月2號就要正式營運的機場捷運，正緊鑼密鼓進行試營運，但在2月18日凌晨，進行例行巡檢的工作人員發現，在A9a緊急停靠站維修軌附近，主維修"道岔"邊的鋼軌，有2到5毫米的裂縫，立即依照標準作業程序，採取魚尾鈑夾固定，並通報興建單位高鐵局。 ==高鐵局總工程司 鍾維力== 材料已經在昨天備妥 預計會在今天晚上 會做一個斷電 然後下軌道去做一個更換的工作 ==桃捷公司總經理 陳凱凌== 所以目前我們所做的這些處置 並沒有影響到我們 正線的正常營運 所以我想這部分 跟我們正式營運 我想應該不會有什麼影響 桃捷公司表示，經過評估並不影響試營運，採取切換處置，讓行駛車輛換軌運行，因備料需要時間，將在21號晚間斷電後修復。由於全線同質性的"道岔軌道"還有92 處，桃捷公司也全面進行巡檢，目前沒有發現其他裂縫。土木專家分析，鋼軌出現裂縫通常是使用已久，擔心機場捷運的鋼軌材料有問題。 ==新北市土木技師公會理事長 余烈== 一般使用若干年以後 正常的磨損 或是正常損壞是合理 我們機場捷運 這個才新的東西 才幾個月 才一年 這種壞掉我認為是不正常 我在懷疑是不是 它的鋼料的材質有問題 桃捷公司表示，出現裂縫的道岔軌道是德國知名廠商BWG所生產，由於還在兩年保固期內，將不用支付任何維修費，除了將出問題的道岔軌道送回原廠外，日後也將請第三公正單位調查，了解原因。 薛宜家 邱福財 台北報導