TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Torrential downpours infiltrated Taipei's mass transit system on Thursday (April 10), sending streams of rainwater cascading into passenger carriages along the busy Tamsui-Xinyi Line (淡水信義線) of the Taipei Metro (台北捷運), the city's primary subway network. Transit authorities maintained that service continued uninterrupted despite the deluge, with cleaning crews mobilized to affected stations after passenger complaints began surfacing.
The intense rainfall, triggered by an advancing weather system, drenched Taiwan's capital throughout the day. Engineers pointed to the Tamsui-Xinyi Line's distinctive semi-open architectural design as the primary vulnerability that permitted water infiltration through train doorways. Viral videos recorded by startled passengers revealed dramatic cascades of water flowing past carriage windows. The situation appeared most severe at the Yuanshan (圓山) and Jiantan (劍潭) stations, where the partially exposed platforms offered minimal protection against the elements.
Commuters described concerning levels of water pooling across train car floors, which then surged toward the rear of carriages when trains accelerated from stations. The Central Weather Administration (CWA, 中央氣象署), Taiwan's national meteorological agency, had earlier broadcast heavy rainfall warnings covering virtually the entire capital region. The alerts encompassed twelve districts: Songshan (松山), Xinyi (信義), Daan (大安), Zhongshan (中山), Zhongzheng (中正), Datong (大同), Wanhua (萬華), Wenshan (文山), Nangang (南港), Neihu (內湖), Shilin (士林), and Beitou (北投).
