It''s seven days after the fatal Hualien rail tragedy that killed 50 and injured dozens more. In Taiwan, the seventh day after death has a special significance, as it''s believed to be the day the souls of the dead return home. Train drivers across Taiwan sounded their horns at 9:28 a.m., to mourn the moment of the crash. Train officers wore yellow ribbons in remembrance of the train driver, Yuan Chun-hsiu, and his deputy Jiang Pei-feng, who both lost their lives.

It''s 9:28 in the morning. As it passes the site of last Friday''s crash, the 408 Puyuma Express train sounds its horn for 30 seconds. All trains passing through the tunnel on this day will do the same.

Two yellow ribbons on the window press forward with the train. As it passes the Qingshui Tunnel, the train slows to 30 kilometers an hour, in honor of the train drivers who died in the crash.

We are now at Shulin Station. The officers on duty stand in a line, each wearing a yellow ribbon. It''s now been a full seven days since the crash.

Chang Shen-wei
Train Drivers'' Association Taipei Branch head
The driver, Mr. Yuan, got along well with his peers. He would message me privately for advice. I''ve partnered with the secondman once. He was also a nice guy.

At 9:28 a.m. on Thursday, some 120 trains across Taiwan simultaneously sounded their horns in mourning. On April 6, the Taiwan Railways Administration made a two-minute clip of a train carrying the train driver''s ashes back to Taichung. Huang Lung-hua, the chairman of the Train Drivers'' Association, said the TRA urgently needed reform, with a view to prioritizing safety. This, he said, is the main reason for sounding horns today.

Huang Lung-hua
Train drivers'' association
No one at the TRA fears reforms. Train drivers have gone through the most rigorous training, and they diligently carry out their duties. It only occurred to me today that we''re putting our lives on the line. There is fear in all of our hearts, fear for our families. Likewise our two colleagues of train No. 408 are sorely missed by all of us on duty.

Huang said he hoped that Thursday''s tribute would draw attention to railway safety, from both the public and the government.