A signal from a track switch on Taiwan's high-speed railway malfunctioned Monday between Yunlin and Chiayi, resulting in the cancellation of seven trains in order to accommodate two-way traffic on a single track. The glitch occurred at 4: 40 p.m. and was repaired two hours later, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. said. It was the railway's second mechanical failure in three days. On Saturday, five trains were canceled and 20 others delayed due to a similar problem that hit the railway between Miaoli and Yuanli in northern Taiwan. Even before the cause of Saturday's malfunction was determined, the track switch on the railway's Huwei section in Yunlin County failed to send a signal to the traffic control center at nearby Chiayi Station as usual Monday evening. When such a glitch occurs, the control center has to bar any train from passing that section, a spokesman for Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.'s Chiayi Station said 'As a result, the Chiayi-Yunlin section was only able to maintain a 'single- track, two-way' service mode,' the spokesman said. Monday's signal malfunction led to the cancellation of seven trains and more than 30-minute delays to many others, the company said. Including Monday's malfunction, 22 signal malfunctions have hit the railway since its inauguration two and a half years ago. Chu Hsu, director-general of the Bureau of Taiwan High Speed Rail under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications which oversees THSRC operations, said Monday that the high frequency of switch malfunctions is unacceptable. Chu has directed the company to intensify its maintenance routine and conduct an overall review of its design and installation procedures to get to the root cause of the problem and make the necessary improvements. 