Court: Train driver in Taiwan crash switched off speed control before accident

YILAN, TAIWAN (Oct 24): The driver of a train in Taiwan that was involved in an accident that took 18 lives told a court here on Tuesday that he had “switched off the speed-control system”, a court official said, Reuters reported.

A spokesperson for the Taiwan Yilan District Court told Reuters the driver told his bail hearing he switched off the system to “boost the train's power when it had slowed down on an earlier stretch of the journey”.

"He should have turned the system back on at the next stop," said court spokesman Huang Yong-sheng, Reuters reported.

"The defendant is highly suspected to have been negligent."

As the train approached Xinma station, where the crash occurred, it was moving at 140kph instead of the 80kph speed limit owing to a curve in the track, the court said, reported AFP.

The AFP report also said that the driver identified by his family name of Yu was released on bail on Tuesday after being probed by prosecutors and returned to hospital where he was being treated for injuries.

Passengers said the train had been shaking badly during the journey and was going “too fast” before it derailed, said the AFP report.

Chief investigator Wu Ze-cheng told Reuters more in depth investigation was needed to find out why the driver failed to turn the speed-control system back on.