Rail traffic between Yilan, Hualien reopens after quake

Taipei, April 4 (CNA) The railway line between Yilan and Hualien counties, which was closed in the wake of a major earthquake on Wednesday, has now reopened to rail traffic, Taiwan Railway Corporation (TRC) said Thursday.

The line, which runs between Suao and Horen stations, had been damaged by falling rocks during the magnitude 7.2 quake that struck off the coast of Hualien at 7:58 a.m. on Wednesday, the company said on its website.

TRC employees worked through the night to repair the damage, and as of 6 a.m. Thursday, rail traffic between the two counties had resumed, beating Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan's (鄭文燦) estimate that it would not fully reopen until Thursday afternoon, TRC said.

The work involved clearing rocks and repairing a section of the Yilan-Hualien railway line, between Beipu and Jingmei stations, TRC said.

The company said it will be providing 10 extra local express train services on the Yilan-Hualien route over the four-day holiday weekend that started Thursday, as road traffic on Provincial Highway No. 9 had also been disrupted due to quake damage.

The temblor caused a landslide at the 169-kilometer mark on the Chongde section of the highway, between Su'ao and Hualien, blocking road traffic near Chongde Railway Station.

According to TRC, platforms 1 and 2 at the Chongde station were damaged by the quake, and the station has been closed until further notice, which means trains are not stopping there.

Meanwhile, Legislator Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) of Hualien inspected some areas of the eastern county on Wednesday and said that it was uncertain when the highway would be cleared, repaired and reopened, as the work might take months.

The Hualien Earthquake was the strongest to hit Taiwan since 1999, when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck central Taiwan on Sept. 21.

As of 10:10 a.m. Thursday, nine deaths and 1,050 injuries had been reported in the wake of the Hualien quake, and 101 people remained trapped or stranded in eastern parts of the country, according to central and local government officials.

Update

April 4

● 38 still missing as Hualien earthquake death toll rises to 10

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