TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Videos surfaced on Wednesday (Aug. 21) showing a rat running around inside a Taipei Metro carriage as staff chased and eventually caught it.
At 7 p.m. passengers spotted a rat hiding in an MRT carriage at Zhongshan Station on the Songshan-Xindian Line (Green Line), per TTV News. After being informed the rodent had boarded a train heading toward Xindian, the station manager and security personnel pursued it.
Passengers captured footage showing people screaming and pushing each other as the black rat quickly scurried under seats and into another carriage, with the station manager chasing it down the aisle.
Security personnel entered the carriage with a net typically used to retrieve items dropped by passengers on the rails. According to Taipei Metro, no one was injured and train operations were not affected.
A female passenger surnamed Tu (杜) told TTV News, "People from the front carriage rushed in and started screaming. I stood up, fearing that there might be someone with a knife or I was in some danger, but in the end, I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized it was just a rat."
As to where the “uninvited guest” had come from, Taipei Metro officials suspect the abundance of food stalls outside the station, along with the large crowds, might have caused the rat to mistakenly enter the MRT carriage.
Ling Chi-yao (凌啟堯), director of the Public Relations Center at Taipei Metro, said that eating and drinking are prohibited in MRT stations and on trains, so the environment is not suitable for rats.
Ling said it was fortunate the station manager and security responded quickly, bringing a swift end to the incident.
Video shows rat running through MRT carriage:
Video shows an MRT security staff member chasing the rat inside the carriage with a net:
