Global engineering firm to conduct check on Singapore's rail network
29 Aug 2015|2,341 views
The Straits Times reported that international engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff will conduct a comprehensive health check on Singapore's rail network, after the American-based company beat out rivals to clinch a pair of contracts worth close to $14 million in total.
The deal is deemed to involve the most comprehensive assessment of the network since the first MRT line opened in 1987. The first contract will analyse the condition of the operating system, while the other will examine its infrastructure.
The awarding of the contracts follows a string of major rail breakdowns. In the first half of this year, there were an average of 2.5 per month - up from the 1.7 in 2011, which was previously the worst year for rail disruptions.
Parsons Brinckerhoff is expected to start work on its assessment of the rail system by the end of the year, and will take six to 12 months to complete it.
The company was also involved in investigations into what caused a massive breakdown which crippled both the North-South and East-West lines during the evening peak on July 7th. It was Singapore's biggest rail breakdown to date.
Together with Japanese engineering firm Meidensha, Parsons Brinckerhoff found that an accumulation of salt deposits on an electrical component on the East-West Line sparked a series of power trips that spread across the two lines.
Rail experts and former SMRT engineers told The Straits Times that the incident could have been prevented if the MRT tunnels had been washed thoroughly and regularly to prevent salt deposits from accumulating.
At the same time, many experts found it puzzling that power trips could extend to the whole network. "Power trips are quite common," one former senior SMRT executive said. "But they are always isolated. A whole series of trips just does not happen all at once."
The Straits Times reported that international engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff will conduct a comprehensive health check on Singapore's rail network, after the American-based company beat out rivals to clinch a pair of contracts worth close to $14 million in total.
The deal is deemed to involve the most comprehensive assessment of the network since the first MRT line opened in 1987. The first contract will analyse the condition of the operating system, while the other will examine its infrastructure.
The awarding of the contracts follows a string of major rail breakdowns. In the first half of this year, there were an average of 2.5 per month - up from the 1.7 in 2011, which was previously the worst year for rail disruptions.
Parsons Brinckerhoff is expected to start work on its assessment of the rail system by the end of the year, and will take six to 12 months to complete it.
The company was also involved in investigations into what caused a massive breakdown which crippled both the North-South and East-West lines during the evening peak on July 7th. It was Singapore's biggest rail breakdown to date.
Together with Japanese engineering firm Meidensha, Parsons Brinckerhoff found that an accumulation of salt deposits on an electrical component on the East-West Line sparked a series of power trips that spread across the two lines.
Rail experts and former SMRT engineers told The Straits Times that the incident could have been prevented if the MRT tunnels had been washed thoroughly and regularly to prevent salt deposits from accumulating.
At the same time, many experts found it puzzling that power trips could extend to the whole network. "Power trips are quite common," one former senior SMRT executive said. "But they are always isolated. A whole series of trips just does not happen all at once."
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