Taiwan Railway South Link Line disrupted by floods amid heavy rainfall

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) Rail services on the South Link Line in southern Taiwan have been partially suspended since Monday morning due to flooding amid heavy rainfall, state-run Taiwan Railway Corp. said.

The train operator first announced suspension of services between Fangliao Station in Pingtung County and Taitung Station in Taitung County at 6:27 a.m. Monday after floods were reported at two sections along the rail line at 6:11 a.m.

There was also a mudslide on tracks just outside Dawu Station in Taitung that left them flooded in muddy water, a photo taken near the station Monday morning showed.

Two morning services originating in Taitung were forced to return to Taitung from north of Dawu, while one Taitung-bound train was turned back at Dawu and passengers were taken to Chaozhou Station in Pingtung, Taiwan Railway said in a statement at 8:40 a.m.

All trains running in a clockwise direction in Taiwan Railway's network around the island were to terminate at Taitung, while trains running in a counterclockwise direction would travel only to Fangliao, the train operator said.

As of 4 p.m., Taiwan Railway's website showed that service between Fangliao and Taitung remained suspended, with the estimated time of resumption "under evaluation."

In its latest heavy rain alerts issued at 2:55 p.m., the Central Weather Administration warned of torrential rain -- 24-hour accumulated rainfall exceeding 350 millimeters or three-hour rainfall of more than 200 mm -- in Taitung through Monday night.

As of 3 p.m., a location in Taitung's southernmost Daren Township recorded total rainfall of 331 mm Monday, while north of Daren 281 mm of rainfall had been recorded in Zhiben and 279.5 mm of rainfall had been recorded in Dawu, CWA data showed.

In its weather advisory, the CWA warned of landslides, falling rocks and sudden surges in river water levels in mountainous areas and floods in low lying areas after days of rain.