SMRT Summary: January Train Incident Updates

SMRT is placing great emphasis on improving the reliability of the North-South and East-West Lines with a slew of network renewal programmes. We have made steady progress in our re-sleepering and re-signalling efforts over the past year, and also with preventive maintenance on our rolling stock. Every instance of train delay or service disruption is being seriously investigated to determine the root causes, in order to derive lessons and prevent future occurrences.

We have completed our investigations on the three incidents in January 2014, and the key findings are as follows:

•  On 11 January 2014 at 12.27pm, the power supply between Yew Tee and Kranji stations was disrupted due to a damaged cable that had been worn out by chaffing against an installation bracket. This caused a train to stall midway between the two stations.

The damaged cable has been repaired. We have conducted a system-wide cable inspection to ensure that there is no other similar cable installation point that might be worn out. We are also in the process of putting in place a condition monitoring system that will further enhance our preventive and predictive maintenance regimes.

•  On 20 January 2014 at 8.11am, a train stalled between Yio Chu Kang and Ang Mo Kio stations. This was due to two circuit breakers not being closed after routine nightly servicing on the train. This caused the battery in the train to be drained out. This battery provides power to the signalling system and when it dropped below a certain level, a safety mechanism was automatically triggered to prevent the train from moving further.

In order to retrieve the affected train, we activated the train behind to conduct a push-out operation. All affected passengers on both trains alighted at Ang Mio Kio station. This took longer than anticipated because of the peak hour congestion at the platform. SMRT engineers worked to normalize the tripped circuit breakers, and conducted functionality tests on the affected train before resuming operations.

This incident was a result of a lapse by one of our technicians. We have since reviewed our risk assessment procedures and have put in place a higher level of supervision for pre-launch train checks. We have also taken disciplinary action against the technician who was negligent.

•  On 22 January 2014 at 10.12pm, a train captain failed to observe a signal light on the track between Expo and Tanah Merah stations. As a result, the train service had to be suspended for safety reasons as part of the integral design of the system. Our engineers needed to verify the safety and integrity of the network before train services could be resumed.

Investigations have confirmed that existing procedures are sound and in place. This incident was the result of oversight and non-compliance by the train captain, who has since been disciplined.

SMRT is committed to delivering safe and reliable train services to all our commuters. We place strong emphasis on ensuring that continuous improvements are made in the core areas of staff training and discipline, preventive maintenance and service delivery. However, even with the best efforts and systems, there will be the occasional delay and unexpected disruption. In such an eventuality, we appreciate the patience and understanding of our commuters and apologize for any inconvenience caused while we work to recover the system as quickly as possible.