A Taichung court has handed down a five-year prison term for attempted murder after a passenger shoved a station worker onto the tracks, a firm outcome for rail staff safety.

• A dispute over a ticket at Wuquan Station in Taichung last October ended with a passenger pushing a rail worker off the platform.
• A train was pulling into the station at the time and braked hard to avoid hitting him.
• The worker suffered multiple broken bones; the man who pushed him ran from the scene and was later arrested.
• He admitted the push but said he never meant to kill, claiming the worker lost his footing.
• Judges rejected that, convicting him of attempted murder and adding three years of court-ordered rehabilitation.

Outlook: The sentence can still be appealed, and it lands as Taiwan Railway faces pressure to better protect frontline staff from angry passengers.