TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An express train traveling from Taitung to New Taipei derailed on Wednesday night (April 10) after it hit a fallen boulder in Hualien County as aftershocks from last week's earthquake continued.
The Taiwan Railway Corporation (TRC) said none of the 146 passengers or crew were injured when the Puyuma Express No. 445 train hit the rock as it neared Heping Station in Xiulin Township at 9:10 p.m., reported Liberty Times. The impact caused the front set of wheels to derail, though the train did not overturn.
Station staff guided passengers to the platform to board Train No. 4046, which arrived at Heping Station at 10:21 p.m., to continue their journey to Shulin Station, where passengers were transferred to their connecting trains.

The TRC said an emergency response team was formed, and a crew was dispatched for repairs. The repair crew arrived on the scene at 11:50 p.m.
After inspections of the track, overhead lines, and signals were conducted, normal operations for the North-link Line resumed at 6 a.m. on Thursday (April 11).
In the section where the accident occurred, Provincial Highway 9 separates the railway from the mountainside. Steel guardrails are installed along both the highway and the railway line.

However, four boulders broke through the barriers near the tracks. Train No. 445 derailed after hitting one of these boulders. The TRC said measures will be taken to reinforce the steel guardrails and that it will step up route inspections to ensure safety.
Passengers whose arrival is delayed by more than two hours from the scheduled time may apply for refunds or compensation at any station within one year. The TRC said the location of the derailment is not considered a high-risk area for rockfalls, and it is not covered by the existing 26 rockfall warning systems.
As of Wednesday, Hualien had recorded over 800 aftershocks since a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the county on April 3.
