(Delete)

Railway institutions shall take responsibility for the construction, repair and maintenance of civil and architectural facilities, track facilities, security and protection equipment, telecommunication facilities, electrification facilities and station equipment, as well as the maintenance of railway cultural assets.
Railway institutions shall provide barrier-free transportation service on actual demands and plan to install barrier-free facilities and equipment for convenient action and use by persons with disabilities.
The rules of construction, repair, maintenance and other relevant matters of railway facilities and equipment refer to Paragraph 1, additional railway cultural assets conducted on related acts, shall be provided by the MOTC.

Railway institutions shall take responsibility to inspect and repair railway locomotives and vehicles.
The rules of category, methods, items and periods, usage regulations and other relevant matters of aforementioned inspect and repair of railway locomotives and vehicles shall be provided by the MOTC.

Railway institutions shall ensure railway operating safety.
The rules of railway route, equipment, vehicles, loading restrictions, signals, signs, marks, operation, blocks, accidences handling and other relevant matters of aforementioned railway operation shall be provided by the MOTC.

Railway institutions shall effectively train and administrate employees so that they possess railway expertise and abilities of safety operation, response to maintaining safety, assistance in sanitation and disease prevention, as well as exact understanding and strict obedience of all railway laws. Before newly-acquired locomotives and vehicles, or safety related operating equipment, auxiliary equipment for maintaining safety, auxiliary equipment for sanitation and disease prevention, or technologies are deemed ready for operation, they shall follow the same aforementioned regulations.
Railway institutions shall execute pre-assigned inspections, periodical inspections and unscheduled inspections of operating personnel regarding their ability, physical and spiritual status. In case an employee is deemed unqualified, that employee shall not be assigned, or else shall be temporarily terminated or have his duty adjusted.
The rules regarding definitions, necessary trainings, skill examinations, physical and spiritual inspections, executing methods, items, periods, qualification criteria, handling of unqualified employees and other relevant matters of aforementioned railway operating personnel, shall be provided by the MOTC.

Regarding accidents and abnormal events that occur during railway operation, railway institutions shall collect information, investigate and research the cause(s), and adopt appropriate preventive and corrective actions in preparation for a future inspection to be conducted by the Railway Bureau.
Before the end of the first quarter of each year, railway institutions shall present an annual safety management report based on the review results of accidents and abnormal events of the previous year
to the Railway Bureau. The content of the report shall include the following matters:
(1) Safety concepts and objectives of operation for railway institutions;
(2) Organizational structure and implementation methods of safety management;
(3) Actions adopted or intended to ensure and upgrade operational safety;
(4) Reviews and preventive measures of accidents and abnormal events;
(5) Other important matters related to operational safety.
Railway institutions shall effectively preserve records of the railway operations, train monitoring, and maintenance of their operating trains; the items, period, and management matters of preservation shall be prescribed by the competent authority.
Railway institutions and related personnel shall also cooperate with the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board in conducting investigations in accordance with the Transportation Occurrences Investigation Act.

The Railway Bureau shall review the accidents and abnormal events that occur during railway operations.
For railway accidents and abnormal events that are not major transportation accidents identified under the Transportation Occurrences Investigation Act, the Railway Bureau may investigate the fact(s) and cause(s) thereof if necessary.
If the Railway Bureau finds that there are matters that should be improved in terms of the results of the review or investigation in the preceding two paragraphs, it shall order the railway institution to make improvements within a prescribed time limit as well as monitoring and tracking such improvements; any misconduct involving violation of the provisions of this Act shall be punished in accordance with the law; in the event of the violation of internal regulations, the railway institution may be ordered to hold relevant personnel accountable, impose penalties and punishments, or take other necessary measures.
Railway institutions and their employees shall cooperate with the Railway Bureau in its need for review or investigation and provide explanations, relevant records, facilities, equipment, information, or items, and shall not evade, cause obstruction, or refuse.
The Railway Bureau shall establish a railway safety reporting system for railway employees to report. Its establishment shall not be for the purpose of punishment or accountability, and the identity of the reporter as well as the source of the information shall be kept confidential so as to avoid major accidents.

Passengers riding on the train, shippers transporting freight, and recipients receiving freight shall abide by railway safety-related laws and regulations as well as instructions of personnel at the train station and on the train.
Pedestrians and vehicles shall not intrude into/onto railway routes, bridges, as well as places inside tunnels and stations not designated for public use.
When pedestrians need to cross railway routes, they shall halt, look, listen, and then proceed with crossing only after ascertaining that no trains are approaching from either direction. However, electrified railway sections shall not be crossed except for at overpasses, underpasses, and railway-crossings.
Livestock pasturing is strictly forbidden within the bordering slopes of railway routes and within five meters from the center of railway tracks.

Electric, communication, or other wires crossing over electrified railways shall conform to the following regulations:
(1) Electric, communication, or other wires with a voltage lower than that of electrified railway wires, shall pass under the railway. The depth from the track surface shall be discussed and decided by pipe and wire departments and railway institutions.
(2) Electric wires with a voltage higher than that of electrified railway wires shall maintain a distance with electrified railway wires as regulated.

All facilities near electrified railways shall conform to the following regulations:
(1) No metal pipes and wires, metal constructions, or structures shall be installed or constructed above the ground within five meters of the center of railway tracks, with the exception of existing or railway related facilities which have conducted appropriate protective measures.
(2) Open wires or communication wires lacking metal sheltering located more than five meters and within 40 meters from the center of railway tracks, running parallel to the railway for over one kilometer, shall conduct appropriate protective measures against electrical interference.
(3) Oil pipelines and gas pipelines laid along railways, shall avoid paralleling railways. In the case of unavoidable paralleling, appropriate protective measures shall be made.
(4) In the case of roadways located on ground higher than the nearby railways, the corresponding roadway authority shall install fences along the side of the roadway adjoining the railway.
(5) In the case of pedestrian overpasses and roadway bridges that cross over electrified railways, safety protective devices shall be installed.
The aforementioned protective measures shall be provided by the MOTC.

Electrified railway wires shall allow the safe passage of roadway vehicles with load heights of 4.2 meters at railway-crossings. If such headroom cannot be maintained due to special conditions, height limits shall be installed on both sides of the railway-crossing and the passage of vehicles with load heights exceeding the regulations shall be forbidden.

Besides high-speed railways, public and private construction along both sides of railway routes shall be restricted after railway institutions have consulted and requested the local municipality, county governments to conduct surveys of railway operation viewing distance and the requirements for the electricity supply wires of electrified railway wires. Existing buildings that block railway operation views may be requested, by corresponding authorities, to modify their structure within a time limit, or be demolished.
Trees and high-stemmed plants along both sides of railway routes that hinder railway operation safety or electricity supply wires may be cut down or pruned by railway institutions after notifying the owner or occupant. In case of an emergency situation, cutting or pruning before notifying is allowable.
The aforementioned modification and demolishment or cutting down and pruning shall be conducted where the least damage will be made or by the least damaging method available. Equivalent compensation shall also be given.

To maintain railway building and operational safety, the MOTC may jointly reconnoiter with local municipality or county governments, the prohibiting and restricting of building range along both sides of the railway.
The aforementioned prohibiting and restricting of building range will be drawn into topographic maps or cadasters by the MOTC after reconnoitering, then presented to the local municipality or county governments to conduct public hearings, overt exhibit for 30 days, before announcing the enforcement, which shall be exempt from regulations regarding relevant land usage control acts.
All modifications of prohibited and restricted building range shall be modified or abolished according to the regulated procedures in the aforementioned 2 paragraphs.

Inside the prohibited building range, with the exception of those constructed by the railway and its stations, connecting construction and affiliated facilities, shall not be subject to the following :
(1) Construction a building;
(2) Erection of engineering facilities;
(3) Installation of advertising objects;
(4) Piling of obstacles;
(5) Land excavation or filling behaviors;
(6) Other engineering activities.
The aforementioned actions ratified by the MOTC and adopted essential actions shall be exempted.
Other engineering actions regulated in Section 6 of Paragraph 1 include new, additional, modifying and restoring constructions above or under the ground, dismantling of structure or its affiliated facilities, installation or replacement of the aerial lines crossing-over the railway etc., any engineering action that obstructs railway buildings or hinders operational safety.
After announcing a prohibited building range, in cases involving existing or in the process of erecting architecture, engineering facilities, advertising objects, obstacles, land excavation, filling and other engineering activities, which may obstruct a railway building or hinder operational safety, the MOTC may consult and request each presiding authority s to modify or dismantle within a deadline. The dismantling of legal architectures, engineering facilities or advertising objects shall receive equivalent compensation. In case there is disagreement with the compensation, the local office shall report its superior office for ratification and implementation.

After the announcement of restricting building range, all cases should refer to all sections of Paragraph 1 of the previous article. If there is a need to apply for a construction license or permit under the acts, the petitioner shall submit a construction license or permit with the documents regulated by each presiding authority and the MOTC, and be approved by those presiding authorities jointly with the MOTC before execution.
In case the behavior refers to all any section of Paragraph 1 of the previous article regarding restricting building range, that doesn’t require an application for a construction license or permit under the Acts, shall append the documents regulated by the MOTC, and be approved by the MOTC before execution.
Prior to the aforementioned two paragraphs, the behavior subject to Paragraph 1 of the previous article which risk or obstruct railway building or operational safety, the MOTC may ask the applicant to modify engineering design, erection method or take other appropriated measures.

In case of violation of regulations of the aforementioned two Articles, any construction beside or along a railway done without permission, or construction that obstructs a railway building or operational satiety, the MOTC may consult and request all presiding authorities to stop construction or activity. The MOTC may request modification, dismantling, improvement, or a remedy within a set deadline. In case there is no presiding authority, the aforementioned disciplinary actions may be executed by the MOTC. The police force of the governing area shall assist, if necessary.
In case the aforementioned construction damages railway facilities or endangers operational safety, the applicants, contractors, sponsors, or supervisors shall be responsible for the restoration or pay a damage indemnity.

The measures of the aforementioned four articles on delimitations, overt exhibitions, announcements, modifications, discontinuities of prohibiting and restricting building range; prohibiting behaviors, dismantling compensations of prohibiting building range; control behaviors, control specifications, applications, approvals, administrations and disciplinary actions and other. Relevant matters shall be jointly provided by the MOTC and Ministry of the Interior after consulted with local governments.

In case of death, injury, property damage or property loss caused by railway operations and other accidents, the railway institutions shall be liable for damage indemnity.
In the event of the above-stated and other accidents that can be proven not to be attributable to railway operations, consolation money or medical subsidies shall still be considered for death or injury of victims. However, accidents occurred due to victims’ intention or negligence are excepted from such indemnity.
Regulation(s) governing the issue criteria, methods and other relevant matters of damage compensation, consolation payment or medical subsidy set forth in the preceding two paragraphs shall be stipulated by the MOTC.

Railway passengers and freight transportation shall insure liability insurance under the amount designated by the MOTC.

Special railways approbated to manage passengers and freight transportation shall comply with the regulations from Article 56-1 till Article 57 and aforementioned two articles.