By KHT Staff
KAOHSIUNG — A tree that fell onto a Kaohsiung Light Rail train on Sunday has raised an unanswered question about the city’s tree-monitoring system: Was the tree fitted with a sensor, and did the system issue an alert before it fell?
The Kaohsiung City Government Mass Rapid Transit Bureau said in a May 30 statement that it had installed tilt sensors on 200 trees along the light rail corridor.
The network covers 177 rain trees (雨豆樹) on Dashun Road (大順路) and 23 Madagascar almond trees (小葉欖仁) along the Museum of Fine Arts Road section. Solar-powered devices send tilt data every hour. When a tree reaches a pre-set threshold, the system can send alerts by text message, LINE and email, allowing the control center to tell drivers to slow down and dispatch crews to inspect, reinforce or trim the tree.
The bureau has described the sensors as an additional safeguard, not a replacement for regular inspections, pruning and reinforcement during typhoons and severe weather.
The issue came into focus after a tree fell across the light rail corridor at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday between C24 Love River Heart Station (愛河之心站) and C23 Longhua Elementary School Station (龍華國小站), striking a train. Taiwan Television reported that no one was injured.
United Daily News reported that the driver made an emergency stop and inspected the train before moving it slowly to the next station. Service was divided into shorter sections for about an hour, with shuttle buses serving the affected portion of the route.
Crews removed the tree by 11:23 a.m. and full service resumed after a track inspection, according to United Daily News. Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp. said the obstruction had been cleared and normal operations restored.
The monitoring network was introduced after Typhoon Krathon in 2024 knocked down 13 of the 318 rain trees then planted along the corridor and helped force a three-day suspension, according to a Kaohsiung City Government report.
As of Tuesday, Aug. 25, no official statement was availabe as to whether the fallen tree was among the 200 being monitored. KRTC said it would inspect trees along the full light rail route after the collision.
