Tragedy Strikes: Deputy Station Director’s Escalator Death Sparks Outrage Over Staffing Cuts

Taichung MRT Deputy Station Master Faints on Escalator, Raises Concerns Over Insufficient Manpower

(Central News Agency Reporter Zhao Lian, Taichung, the 23rd) A Taichung MRT deputy station master fainted on the escalator a few days ago and was found by passengers, sparking concerns over insufficient manpower and delayed rescue times. City councilors criticized the manpower cuts to save costs as unreasonable.

On the 11th, a deputy station manager of the Taichung MRT Corporation, surnamed Xu, fainted as he got on the escalator while taking the bus from the MRT Siwei Elementary School Station. He was stuck for 1 minute and after informing the female station manager, he was sent to the hospital for treatment for many days.

An employee of the Zhongjie Company complained that there are security guards at stations along the Zhongjie Line, and after the recent stabbing incident at 9pm, the Zhongjie Company moved station security guards to cars. This has raised concerns over the delayed rescue time in case of an emergency.

Chen Yurong, a city councilor from the Democratic Progressive Party, raised questions from the outside world when the deputy station manager fainted and was immediately discovered by station staff. She emphasized that with sufficient manpower, the rescue time can be shortened, and it is possible that the rescue time can be shortened to avoid regret.

Chen Yurong said that in order to save costs, Zhongji Company has reduced the security budget in 2022 and 2023, and considering the low number of passengers, it has not divided a security and allocation of manpower at each station. She believes that this is unreasonable and that Zhongzhi Company should not take chances.

Kuomintang city councilor Yang Dahong believes the Zhongji company is currently planning to return the security staff to the car, while the onboard staff will work at the station. He suggested that Zhongjie Company should carefully consider how to configure security and the number of on-board personnel at large and small stations. While there is a traffic control center that can monitor the situation, if the manpower at each station can be fully allocated to handle issues like ride safety and ticketing, the processing speed can be accelerated during emergencies.

If there is enough manpower, the deputy station manager can be found earlier, Zhongjie Company said in a transcript that it has allocated manpower according to actual demand and will adjust manpower to strengthen passenger transport in the future. Travel volume demand.

Transportation Director Ye Zhaofu said that Zhongji Company’s configuration in terms of manpower allocation refers to increasing manpower costs, Zhongji Company has been asked to re-examine manpower allocation and scheduling.

Related News

• Taichung MRT’s deputy station manager passed out and was found on the escalator by a passenger
• City government cracks down on 28 cases of white-plate vehicles, issuing fines and cutting licenses during chaos at Taichung High Speed Rail Station
• Taichung International Racing Street Closer Show tickets are on sale and free transportation will be provided