TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man faces up to NT$7,500 (US$226) in fines for illegally riding between carriages on a Taiwan Railway Corporation train over the weekend.
The Railway Police Bureau received a report at 8:11 p.m. Saturday that a man was seen to have wedged himself into the gap between the third and fourth cars of Taroko Express Train No. 448. It prompted the train to make an unscheduled stop at Qidu Station in Keelung, per CNA.
When officers arrived, they found the approximately 40-year-old man surnamed Tsai (蔡) lying on the tracks near the southern end of platform 2A near car No. 4.
Officers pulled Tsai to safety. He did not appear to have any visible injuries.
Tsai requested medical assistance and was taken by ambulance to Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. The train conductor voided Tsai’s ticket, and the Taroko Express resumed operations.
According to the police investigation, Tsai took a train bound for Taitung and exited at Taipei's Nangang Station. He failed to board again in time for the next train, so he climbed onto the coupler between the train cars.
The TRC said that at 8:17 p.m., a signal operator at Xizhi Station noticed Tsai on surveillance cameras appearing between train cars. The control center ordered the train to make an emergency stop at Qidu Station.
The train departed Qidu Station at 8:26 p.m., after a five-minute delay due to the incident.
The TRC said the passenger violated Article 57, Paragraph 2 of the Railway Act, which prohibits pedestrians from trespassing onto railway tracks, and Article 71, Paragraph 1, Clause 1, forbidding climbing, jumping off, or clinging to moving trains. The Railway Police will issue a citation and forward the case to the transport ministry's railway bureau, which may impose a fine ranging from NT$1,500 to NT$7,500.
