[12] The incident was primarily due to human factors and was preventable, as an investigation from The New York Times revealed that it was "systemic failures at a government agency" including "a culture of complacency and weak oversight", that had made the disaster possible.

[13] The accident occurred on the first day of a four-day Qingming Festival holiday, which is typically a period of high traffic with people visiting the graves of deceased family members.

[22][c] On 2 April 2021, a southbound Taroko Express train numbered 408 left Shulin in New Taipei at 07:16 NST heading for Taitung.

[30] According to media reports, a flatbed truck[d] used in the slope stabilization project slid about 20 metres (66 ft) down the side of a hill, fell onto the tracks, and was struck by the oncoming train,[16][33][12][11] which was travelling at 125 kilometres per hour (78 mph) when the driver spotted the obstruction.

[29][31][42][43] More than 150 emergency personnel, including search and rescue workers and members of the military, were dispatched to the derailment site.

[52] The Executive Yuan ordered the lowering of national flags to half-mast at all public schools and government agencies for three days beginning on 3 April in honor of those who died.

[53] A TRA official stated that the route should be repaired within a week, and that in the meantime trains would run on a parallel track, with delays of about 15 to 20 minutes.

[48] Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai later announced that the resumption of services on the damaged track had been postponed to 20 April as questions were raised about whether the crash had any impact to the safety of the area.

[3] In addition, Deputy Minister Wang stated that the TRA would need to review its standard operating procedure with regard to selecting contractors and overseeing work being done at construction sites.

[55] The driver of the construction truck, Lee Yi-hsiang (Chinese: 李義祥; pinyin: Lǐ Yìxiáng; aged 45), was taken into police custody and being investigated to ascertain the cause of the disaster.

[60] Prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for the manager of the construction site, who may be accused of causing death due to negligence and of forging documents.

[69] In late May, the government disciplined a dozen people for the accident and instituted safety inspection procedures before trackside construction projects could resume.

[72] On 3 April 2021, President Tsai Ing-wen and Magistrate of Hualien County Hsu Chen-wei visited the crash site and also the hospitals where dozens of injured victims were being treated.

[85] On the first anniversary of the incident in 2022, trains nationwide in Taiwan blew their horns for 30 seconds at 09:28 NST (01:28 UTC) in commemoration at exact time of the derailment.

In the ensuing week, several bone fragments were discovered, prompting an apology from transportation minister Wang Kwo-tsai and Taiwan Railway Administration director-general Tu Wei [zh].