At one of Taiwan's most scenic tour-ist destinations, Alishan, the long holiday coincided with the start of spring weather and the first bloom of mountain cherry blossoms. Yet one small mistake caused by human error would lead to tragedy and many casualties. The nation is in mourning. How can we prevent this tragedy from happening again and what can Taiwan's tourist industry do to recover? As the government promotes its "Program for Increasing Tourism" and related programs, these questions are worthy of everyone's concern.
On Saturday, March 1st at 2 p.m., only four minutes after leaving the station, a fully loaded passenger train on the Shenmu branch of the Alishan Forest Railway experienced brake failure and plunged down the mountain. The first carriage struck the mountain, the second and third carriages were crushed and overturned, and the fourth carriage fell five meters into a ravine. The tragedy left 17 dead and over 170 injured.
Soon after, an air rescue team arrived by helicopter, which itself crashed due to mechanical difficulties. Although there were no further fatalities, it added to the alarm and misery of the train survivors.
The inquiry that followed determined that human error was the cause of the derailment. The most serious accident in the Alishan Forest Railway's 90-year history occurred because someone forgot to open a valve.
The trains of the Alishan Forest Railway are steam powered. Before each train leaves the station, the braking system, located between the engine and each of the carriages, must be connected by opening valves. This allows pressure to build, which supplies power to the braking system of each carriage. The day of the accident was part of a long holiday and there were many passengers and many scheduled trains. The person responsible for checking the valves, surprisingly, forgot this task. Others who should have caught this mistake-the conductor, the driver, and the co-driver-neglected to check. This remarkable carelessness, the failure of four professional railroad workers to notice a fundamental problem, resulted in a wrenching loss of life and unnecessary injuries.
Confusion and panic reigned over the immediate scene of the accident. Fortunately, there were some passengers with professional backgrounds who were able to provide treatment to the injured. Local and national rescue and medical systems were quickly brought into play. The Chiayi County government immediately established a disaster relief center, requesting help from the national search and rescue center, and air rescue units from both the police and the air force. Even with trains and other transportation at a standstill, all survivors were transported to hospitals before evening, and the dead were brought in soon after. Getting the injured quickly to medical treatment was the only bright spot in an otherwise tragic day.
The accident was caused by simple human error, but some point out that the railway is underfunded and disaster could have struck in other ways. Each year there are 800,000 visitors to the Alishan Forest Recreation Area, which is under the auspices of the Taiwan Forestry Bureau, and every holiday the area is packed with visitors. The narrow-gauge forest railway, one of only three alpine railways in the world, is a favorite of tourists. Yet there are potential problems, since each year the railway operates at a loss of NT$100 million and repairs are often neglected.
Currently many of the engines of the Alishan Forest Railway are at least 20-30 years old, and train stations are suffering cutbacks in service and maintenance personnel. The number of travelers on the small station platforms often swells to over a thousand, and there is only one service person to maintain order. Anything can happen. On the same morning as the train wreck, another accident occurred when a passenger was pushed onto the Chushan line, which is popular for views of the sunrise. Obviously overall management is in need of a change.
In truth, it's not only in Alishan that tourists face these dangers. On any given holiday, all of Taiwan's tourist areas are packed with unmanaged, surging crowds of people. In consideration of this, on March 3rd the Executive Yuan convened an inter-departmental meeting on "Promoting and Maintaining Tourism and Traveler Safety." The purpose was to require all publicly operated scenic recreational areas to implement comprehensive inspections and to upgrade safety standards to international levels. This would include reinforcing inspection systems, adopting inspection certificates, establishing inspection teams to conduct periodic random inspections, and strengthening public accident insurance, all to prevent future tragedies from occurring.
Unfortunately, the tragedy has dampened prospects for the Alishan cherry blossom season, and has set back the government's "Year of the Tourist-Program for Increasing Tourism." This is particularly true for international tour groups, especially those from Japan, which are steering away from tourism in Taiwan because of the lack of safety measures, and heading to other countries.
For the future, we only hope that all who are involved will learn from this tragedy. When developing tourism we should separate truth from fiction, strengthen basic infrastructure, broaden our tourism sensibilities, and carefully manage every link. We should aspire to attract tourists from around the world and allow them to enjoy a safe and delightful trip to "Formosa"-the beautiful island.
p.062
Starting operation in the same year as the Republic of China, Alishan's
narrow-gauge railroad holds a special place in the hearts of many Taiwanese.
News of the recent accident is painful for many, and it has caused serious harm to the Taiwan tourist industry. (file photo)
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)
