9:28 am - Eternal Love in Light

On the 9:28 am of April 2, 2021, during the Tomb-Sweeping Festival holiday, the Taroko Express Train No. 408, traveling from Shulin to Taitung, derailed near the north entrance of Qingshui Tunnel in Xiulin Township, Hualien County. The train was struck by a construction vehicle that had slipped down a hillside onto the tracks. The accident claimed 49 lives and injured 213 people, marking the deadliest railway disaster in Taiwan in nearly six decades. In the wake of this tragedy, a support group formed by the victims’ families, known as “Tears of Taroko,” proposed the creation of a commemorative lighting installation in and around the accident site to honor the victims and serve as a reminder for future safety. The installation is scheduled to be lit annually around April 2.

The commemorative lighting project spans three tunnels along the southbound section of the Northern Railway Line: Heren Tunnel, Qingshui Tunnel, and Chongde Tunnel. Together, they form a symbolic journey through memory, sorrow, and hope—conveyed through the language of light. In Heren Tunnel, nine amber lights and twenty-eight white lights represent the time of the accident—9:28 AM. As the train speeds through, the lights create a visual timeline, evoking the feeling of time rewinding and awakening the memory of those lost. Entering Qingshui Tunnel, soft linear white lights—reminiscent of white balloon flowers—symbolize stillness and eternity. Here, time appears to freeze, inviting reflection and mourning while offering solace to the living. Finally, in Chongde Tunnel, the sequence of lights is reversed: twenty-eight white lights followed by nine amber lights.

This reversal expresses the longing to turn back time and erase the tragedy. It symbolizes the hope of returning to ordinary life and continuing the journey ahead. This poignant progression of light through the tunnels offers more than remembrance—it becomes a path of healing, lighting the way year after year with love, memory, and hope.