Disaster Prevention
Disaster Prevention with Professional Response
Factors affecting the safety of THSR trains can be divided into three categories, including: natural factors, human factors and equipment abnormality. In accordance with the overall prevention and contingency plan for the three categories of disasters, the Company puts the safety of passengers and personnel first, formulates emergency procedures to respond to actual disasters, and takes various measures to improve and resume operations through cooperation between internal and external units.
Emergency Response Flow Chart for Various Disasters
THSRC has adopted relevant laws and regulations on disaster prevention and fire safety as the basis for the formulation of internal plans and measures, and each station or depot implements various disaster prevention tasks as per the internal plans. The standard operating procedures for disaster response are also independently inspected for safety by international experts in the final inspection phase to ensure that the procedures can cope with various potential disasters that affect transportation safety. All operating procedures are regularly inspected and revised in accordance with regulations, and all inspection operations are completed according to the frequency of inspection during the epidemic period in compliance with epidemic prevention regulations to ensure the reliability of equipment. The relevant disaster or emergency response operation rules and procedures of each unit shall be reviewed at least once every three years, and the effectiveness shall be periodically reviewed through legal compliance operations every quarter; the relevant emergency response procedures shall be continuously improved at each emergency response operation review.
Natural Disaster Prevention Measures
There is a "Disaster Warning System" (DWS) along the line of the THSR trains. When dangers that directly threaten people's safety such as earthquakes, foreign object intrusions, landslides, rock falls, or other dangerous signals are detected, the automatic train control system will send a stop command to stop the train. The earthquake detector in the system can accurately monitor the earthquake's range to ensure driving safety. For heavy rain and earthquake events in 2022, the Disaster Warning System (DWS) will play the function of disaster warning, sending automatic stop signals in time, and returning disaster information to OCC.
DWS Framework
Notes:
1. SCER: Signaling and Communication Equipment Room
2. ISCER: Intermediate Signaling and Communication Equipment Room
3. SCR: Station Control Room
4. SCH: Signaling and Communication Hut
Relevant information on the actual natural disaster events affecting the THSRC operation in 2022 is as follows:
Natural Disaster Events Affecting Operations
Countermeasures and follow-up treatment of THSRC for Miaoli landslide event
As for man-made disasters, THSRC not only develops a "Material Man-Made Security Incident or Terrorist Attack Contingency Plan" to facilitate coordination with government agencies and to set up operational mechanisms, but also intensifies safety training planning according to different scenarios such as "suspicious bags and explosions", "poisonous chemicals" or "train or station random homicide"; when actual man-made disasters occur, different execution plans are drafted according to crisis prevention, actual response, clean-up and restoration, etc. The relevant instructions are as follows:
- Crisis prevention stage: THSRC police are engaged to assist in maintaining station order and safety of train services, and a security company is also contracted to maintain order at stations, right-of-way of equipment, and safety of train services. In addition, dedicated personnel are assigned to monitor the closed-circuit television cameras at various stations, important server rooms along the rail, or tunnel entrances.
- Actual response stage: In the case of man-made safety incidents, THSRC will immediately activate the crisis management and control mode. The key actions include rescue, evacuation guidance, isolation of the scene, access control, and notification of railway police.
- Clean-up and recovery stage: After the on-site investigation and evidence search are completed and approved by the judicial authority, the on-site clean-up and recovery operations will be carried out. In the early stage of resumption of operations, inspections and patrols will be enhanced, and the scale of the police on duty will be increased as support.
Regarding the handling of abnormal equipment, THSRC carries out the repair and maintenance of circuit boards/modules of all train cars of the train system, the repair and maintenance of the switch of the signal system and electronic equipment, and turnout equipment reliability improvement project through the electronic maintenance center, while auditing and inspecting the maintenance records to strictly control the safety of the transportation equipment.
In addition to planning overall preventative and contingency measures based on three types of hazard factors such as natural factors, human factors and equipment abnormalities, the THSRC has also conduct regular and unscheduled drills for various hypothetical scenarios, so that employees at all levels are familiar with the emergency response procedures for various kinds of emergencies. In 2022, to part with the haze of the epidemic, we expanded safety training and disaster prevention and rescue exercises to improve the emergency response capabilities of various units. We continue to refer to the experience of various railway incidents at home and abroad and the "Taiwan High Speed Rail Overall Disaster Prevention and Response Plan" approved by the Disaster Management Council of the Executive Yuan, the laws and regulations, the requirements of government units and the review of abnormal incidents of high-speed railway companies, to formulate an annual disaster prevention and rescue exercise training plan, and plan and promote various disaster prevention training and rescue exercises with foreign aid units in various places to familiarize ourselves with the joint command and response mechanism, and improve on-site rescue and prevention capabilities. In 2022, THSRC completed a total of 98 disaster prevention and rescue drills (training) at various stations, depots, and routes. In response to the review of the southeast cement construction events in 2022, the "operation change passenger transfer and connection drill" of each station was strengthened, and 12 new rehearsals have been added this year compared with 2021.
Safety Training Categories in 2022
2022 Disaster Prevention and Rescue Drills (Training) Record
Large-scale Joint Drills and Training Events in 2022
Considering the frequent earthquakes in Taiwan, the Company plans to conduct a second earthquake disaster drill in the main line area every year to strengthen the ability of colleagues to respond to and deal with earthquake disasters. On the night of June 23th, 2022, the THSRC conducted the "Taipei Station TRUPO Track Evacuation Exercise under Earthquake". The exercise simulated a train derailment and personnel injuries caused by an earthquake in the Taipei Tunnel. The train crew and station staff promptly notified the accident and carried out emergency evacuation of personnel in the tunnel. Foreign support units also collaborated in the disaster relief efforts. Over 250 individuals participated in the exercise, including relevant employees of the company and joint mobilization by the Taipei Municipal Fire and Health Bureau, Railway Police Bureau, Railway Bureau, and Transportation Safety Committee.
"Taipei Station TRUPO section track evacuation drill due to earthquake"
In order to implement consolation and immediate medical care for injured passengers and their families when major disasters happen, THSRC has established the “Care and Consolation Team” in North, Central, and South part of Taiwan to provide relevant support and company, including care and consolation telephone lines, family contact, medical assistance, legal consultation, and funeral and other consultation on various needs. This team also regularly participates in THSRC's annual disaster prevention drills (training) to review and optimize its mobilization effectiveness through actual drills.
The command of the overall operation system of THSRC is controlled by the Operation Control Center located at Taoyuan Operation Management Center Building, including route control, signaling and safety interlock, power control, communication, data transmission or monitoring alarms equipment. Through 24/7 real-time monitoring, THSRC keeps abreast of the status of the operation and night maintenance along the entire HSR line while maintaining close contact with the station control centers, depot control centers, and external emergency supporting units to ensure transportation safety.