TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – AI-powered surveillance and an overhaul of emergency protocols will be introduced across rail systems after a fatal Metro Taipei attack exposed failures in notification and early response.
The plan follows 27-year-old Chang Wen’s (張文) knife assault on the Dec. 19 when he threw smoke devices near Taipei Main Station and Zhongshan Station. He killed three people and injured several before later dying after a fall, per CNA.
At a safety coordination meeting, government officials identified delayed cross-agency reporting, insufficient early-stage response, limited and infrequent drills, and a lack of early warning tools as key shortcomings revealed by the incident.
Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) ordered a systemic review that resulted in four core measures. These included revising joint emergency plans for shared stations and improving synchronized reporting among control centers to ensure real-time information flow.
Another measure will strengthen joint disaster response centers through enhanced training and backup staffing. Authorities will also increase the frequency of live drills covering scenarios such as indiscriminate attacks and combined fire and water hazards.
The ministry will assess deploying AI image recognition and smart monitoring systems to eliminate surveillance blind spots. They will integrate them with security patrols and police-civilian coordination to build a multilayered safety network.
Upgrades shall be enforced across systems to build a more resilient, nationally consistent rail safety environment, per the Economic Daily News.
