Overhead Electric Cable Falls Btw. Dawu and Longxi Stations 電車線掉落 台鐵南迴大武-瀧溪一度中斷

Taiwan Railways' South Link line experienced traffic disruptions ahead of the major Double Ten holiday. Traffic on both directions halted due to a fallen electric cable, with one train stuck in the tunnel, affecting over 1,500 passengers. Meanwhile, the tracks between Yuli and Fuli stations in Hualien are currently still under reconstruction after the earthquake in September. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said it owuld speed up the process to have it done hopefully before the Lunar New Year 2023.

The train lost power and came to a halt. The conductor tried to make a radio call in the dark. On the evening of the 5th, an overhead electric cable fell at a section between Dawu and Longxi stations, disrupting traffic for both directions on the South Link line, with one train stuck in a tunnel. Passengers could not be transferred by bus due to the terrain, so the Taiwan Railways Administration dispatched an older DR2800 model Tzechiang Express train to the rescue. This incident affected a total of 1,581 passengers that were onboard the 17 trains in service during the time. One legislator questioned the incident since a new overhead catenary system for the South Link Line has just been built. 

Lin Chun-hsien, Legislator (DPP): “The overhead catenary system has just been built for the South Link Line. The overhead cable broke and fell in two years? That's really…. ”
Tu Wei, TRA Director-General: “We will improve on that.”

The tracks between Yuli and Fuli stations in Hualien are currently still under reconstruction after the big earthquake in September. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) originally estimated six months for the recovery of the tracks but said recently they would try to speed up the process to have it done hopefully before the Lunar New Year 2023.

Wang Kwo-tsai, Minister of Transportation and Communications: “There are still 18.8 kilometers of recovery work between Yuli and Fuli. It should take six months but we are now discussing how to have trains operating again in that section by Jan. 18. We have arranged five teams of people working on fixing the railway together. ”

The reconstruction work will follow specific guidelines for the seismic design for railway structures, and it will take about NT$260 million to complete. More domestic flights flying to Taitung will be available during this period of time, especially during the upcoming Double Ten holiday, according to the MOTC.

列車失去電力停擺，列車長摸黑以手持無線電溝通，台鐵5日傍晚又發生電車線掉落事件，這回是在南迴線大武到瀧溪站間 ，除了南迴線一度雙向中斷，還有一輛列車卡在隧道內。現場地形無法公路接駁，台鐵派出柴聯自強號前往疏運旅客。這起事故影響計17列次、旅客1581人。立委質疑南迴線電車線才完工不久，故障並不尋常。

民進黨立委林俊憲指出：「剛完成的南迴鐵路，這全新的設備，兩年內電車線就脫落。這實在是……」台鐵局長杜微回應會再改善。

至於9月18日台東地震重創台鐵花東段，目前玉里到富里段還在搶修當中，原定半年修復，不過交通部表示，因加派人手趕工，可望提前在農曆春節前通車。

交通部長王國材表示：「剩18.8公里，玉里到富里，那本來是要6個月（工期），經過我們討論應該會在明年1月18日就可以通車。我們用同時進行5個工作面，就是5組人馬同時施工。」

玉里到富里段預計1月18日起慢速通車，接下來會依照《鐵路橋梁耐震設計規範》進行安全評估以及補強，修復經費約2.6億元。交通部已請民航局協調航空公司，在鐵路修復前增班台東航線，國慶連續假期間也放大機型疏運。