Landslide lake nears overflow, halting Taiwan railway's East Line

Taiwan's East Coast railway line faces disruption as the Wanli Creek landslide lake approaches overflow, prompting a precautionary suspension of services between Fenglin and Hualien starting Monday afternoon.

The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) announced that all trains on the East Line would operate normally until 3 p.m. However, preventive measures were enacted thereafter, leading to the halt of services on the Fenglin-Hualien section. This interruption has caused significant inconvenience for travelers, with many flocking to Fenglin Station to seek refunds or reschedule their journeys.

Some passengers were caught off guard by the sudden suspension. One individual, arriving at the station just before 3 p.m., found all scheduled trains canceled and desperately sought others to share a taxi to Hualien. Another traveler, needing to return to Taipei, was dismayed to discover the complete suspension and reluctantly considered staying an extra day in Fenglin before finding fellow passengers for a shared car journey.

To mitigate the impact, TRA is operating three additional round-trip local trains between Fenglin and Hualien. These services are scheduled to depart from Fenglin at 5:20 p.m., 6:04 p.m., and 8:42 p.m., with return services from Hualien at 5:55 p.m., 7:17 p.m., and 9:05 p.m. These trains will connect passengers traveling on the South-Link Line, as northbound trains will terminate at Hualien Station.