TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Labor (MOL) fined the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and its subcontractors NT$3.17 million (US$113,600) for more than 300 violations of safety rules, reports said Friday (May 7).

On April 2, a truck on a TRA construction project in Hualien County rolled down a slope onto the train tracks just before an express train passed by, causing a derailment which killed 49 people and injured more than 200.

In the wake of the incident, the MOL sent inspectors around the country to visit 195 TRA construction projects. The review turned up 306 violations and 15 orders to stop work, CNA reported.

In most instances, the necessary fences had not been installed, no risk assessment study had been conducted beforehand, and construction projects higher than 2 meters were left without safety equipment to prevent falling objects, MOL officials said.

On June 18, an MOL department will hold a meeting to discuss the reduction of accidents at public construction sites and ask the Ministry of Transportation to launch a risk management platform and tighten its supervision of the TRA.