NEW TAIPEI (TVBS News) — New Taipei's Department of Rapid Transport System (新北捷運局) released a damage assessment for the Circular Line (環狀線) on Friday (Jan. 3), attributing the earthquake-related damage to contractor negligence. According to the assessment, BES Engineering Corp. (中華工程公司) failed to follow approved construction plans, causing damage to bridge supports and misalignment of steel box girders.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake on April 3, 2024, displaced nine steel box girders and damaged 139 facilities along the line. The New Taipei City Government commissioned the Chinese Society of Structural Engineering (中華民國結構工程學會) to investigate the damage, which confirmed contractor negligence as the cause. BES Engineering's deviation from the approved designs resulted in bridge support failure, misaligned steel box girders, and fractured tracks.
The Banqiao-Zhonghe (板橋-中和) segment halted operations and was initially estimated to take 14 months to repair. However, the section resumed service on Dec. 12, 2024, six months ahead of schedule. The Taipei City Government originally contracted CECI Engineering Consultants (台灣世曦工程顧問有限公司) to manage the administrative agreements for the line's construction.
Lee Cheng-an (李政安), director of New Taipei's Department of Rapid Transport System, explained that excessive space above the pins caused them to jump during the earthquake, leading to support failure and beam misalignment.