Taipei, Aug. 30 (CNA) New Taipei transport officials gave the media a first in-person look Wednesday at trains for the under-construction Sanying Line, which include several safety features added following a fatal accident on the Taichung MRT in May.
At a press event in New Taipei's Sanxia District, officials from the city government's Department of Rapid Transit Systems highlighted a camera system at the front of each train, which they said would work in tandem with an intrusion detection system in the event of a track obstruction.
According to officials, the cameras allow those in the driverless system's control room to view real-time images of trains on the system.
Officials said that the cameras were added after an accident on the Taichung MRT on May 10, in which a train plowed into a crane boom that had fallen onto the tracks, killing one passenger.
Other new additions include a more easily accessible emergency stop button, widened gangway connections and a button for platform staff to open a train's door in the event of an evacuation, officials said.
The two-car train on show Wednesday arrived in Taiwan on Aug. 10 and is the first of 29 units manufactured by Hitachi Rail Italy for use on the Sanying Line connecting New Taipei's Sanxia and Yingge districts.
According to the New Taipei City Government, each train set for the 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity Sanying Line, which consists of 12 elevated stations, has 50 seats and can accommodate a maximum of 330 passengers.
The Sanying Line is expected to open in 2025, instead of the originally scheduled late 2023, due to construction delays.
Officials attributed the delays to the COVID-19 pandemic and disputes over land expropriations, as well as labor reforms enacted in 2017 limiting the number of hours contractors can work.
Once commercial services begin, travel time between Yingge and Taipei will be reduced by 20 minutes, the city department has said, adding that the new metro line will connect with the Taipei MRT's Blue Line, as well as both the Taoyuan MRT's airport line and the yet-to-be-completed Green Line in Taoyuan.
