HSR took 82 seconds to make a complete stop in Jiashian quake

Chu Hsu, head of the bureau of HSR, said they will hold a meeting next week with the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) and seismologists to figure out a better response system to cope with powerful earthquakes.

As the Jiashian quake struck, six HSR trains were running on sections below Taichung, four of which were driving at high speeds. Among the six trains, the longest braking time happened to a train running at a speed of 296 km per hour, which traveled 3.6 km to make a full stop in 82 seconds. The train experienced the shortest braking time was driving at a speed of 92 km per hour and took 19 seconds to stop after traveling 300 m. The train derailing near Sinshih Township, Tainan County, was operating at a speed of 298 km per hour, took 76 seconds and traveled 3.3 km before it came to a full stop, Chu explained.

Braking time and braking distance needed for a train depend on the train's speed at the time. For safety concerns, the faster a train runs, the longer a braking time and a braking distance are, Chu added.

The strongest magnitude does not necessarily happen when a quake first hits; the strongest magnitude for different locations vary, depending on distances from the epicenter, and it might happen at a different time, said Hsin Tsai-chin, head the CWB.

The current HSR braking system will be launched when a magnitude of an earthquake reaches higher than 4 on the Richter scale, which is relatively strict standard, Chu emphasized.

Black Boxes on the High Speed Rail trains showed their response to the Jiashian earthquake on Mar. 4, 2010

Train I.D. — speed/per hour — braking time — braking distance

110 — 298 km — 76 seconds — 3.3 km

410 — 160 km — 35 seconds — 0.8 km

403 — 92 km — 19 seconds — 0.3 km

105 — 294 km — 80 seconds — 3.5 km

405 — 296 km — 82 seconds — 3.6 km

408 — 289 km — 79 seconds — 3.4 km

Note: Braking time and braking distance are influenced by a train's speed, the slope of a track and friction on a track at the time.

Source: Bureau of High Speed Rail

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