TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following track issues with the Taiwan Taoyuan Metro Tuesday morning, all services are now running as normal as of 1 p.m.
During a routine safety inspection at 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, a problem was discovered with a railway switch on the Taoyuan Metro track between Taipei and Sanchong (三種).
As a result of emergency maintenance procedures, journey times both ways along the route were extended by 30 minutes. Boarding at station A1 (Taipei Main Station) was suspended, although passengers could still board at stations A2 and beyond.
The problem was resolved by 12.30 p.m. and Taoyuan Metro services have resumed normal operations. Passengers have been able to board at station A1 since 1 p.m.
The issue affected metro services for over six hours. Although the New Year break has meant less people journeying towards Taoyuan International Airport today, travelers flying in the morning and afternoon were forced to take alternative forms of transportation, UDN reports.
Taoyuan Metro issued a message to say it is imperative all system tests and safety inspections are passed before people are allowed to use metro services. It takes a while to ensure all safety standards are met after a fault is discovered, and so it was necessary to suspend the affected services in the morning, the company said.
