Prize(s) Winners in Other Lighting Designs
Lighting Design/Product Company YI.ng Lighting Design Co., Ltd.
Lead Designers Ping Yi Liu , Wen Ying Chu
Other Designer's names Chi Wei Chang
Client Taiwan Railway Corporation, Ltd.
Photo Credits Sen Yung Liu
Completion Date 02 April 2025
Project Location Hualien, Taiwan
Entry DescriptionOn April 2, 2021, the Taroko Express No. 408 derailed near Qingshui Tunnel after being struck by a construction vehicle, claiming 49 lives and injuring 213. To honor the victims, the families’ group “Tears of Taroko” proposed a commemorative lighting installation, lit annually around April 2.
The design spans three tunnels - Heren, Qingshui, and Chongde - forming a symbolic journey through memory, grief, and hope. In Heren Tunnel, nine amber and twenty eight white lights mark the accident time, 9:28 AM, creating a visual timeline that rewinds memory as trains pass. In Qingshui Tunnel, soft white linear lights - reminiscent of white balloon flowers - suggest stillness and eternity, inviting reflection and mourning. In Chongde Tunnel, the sequence reverses, expressing the longing to turn back time and the hope of returning to ordinary life. Together, the progression of light becomes a path of remembrance and healing.
Spanning over six kilometers, construction faced strict railway safety limits, with only 2.5 hours of nightly work for half a year. A sensor system ensures lights activate only after the first carriage passes, invisible to drivers but visible to passengers, and switch off once the train departs—making the installation safe, precise, and enduring.
