(TAIPEI, Taiwan) — Excessive speed was the main cause of the derailment of a train in Taiwan that killed 18 people and injured scores of others, investigators said Tuesday.
A Cabinet task force found the train entered a curve at 140 kph (87 mph), almost twice the speed limit for the section, the official Central News Agency reported.
CNA said the train’s driver has been placed under investigation on suspicion of negligence, including allegedly disabling the automatic train protection system that would have caused it to brake. Possible mechanical problems with the train were also being examined.
The 6-year-old Japanese-built Puyuma trains were built to travel at 150 kph (93 mph) to ease transportation on rugged parts of the mountainous island’s east coast. They are designed to tilt when going around curves, making journeys quicker and easing pressure on the road system crossing Taiwan’s central mountain range.
The train had been carrying more than 360 passengers with about 180 listed as injured Tuesday.
Sunday’s accident was Taiwan’s deadliest railway disaster since a 1991 train wreck killed 30 people.
