LTA announces findings of East-West Line disruption in 2024
04 Jun 2025|41 views
The LTA has said that it has completed its investigations into the root cause of the SMRT train service disruption on the East-West Line (EWL) between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations that occurred from 25 to 30 September 2024.
On 25 September 2024, a dislodged axle box caused the wheels of a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train to fall off and damage the track, which required repair works that were carried out over six days. The recovered axle box and axle bearing were badly damaged, with the grease in the axle box completely burnt off. In addition, the recovered chevron spring debris was too badly damaged, making identification of any initial damage prior to the incident as well as establishing a root cause nigh impossible.
Therefore, in its investigations, LTA concluded that a likely cause of the failure was degraded grease in the axle box, which can increase wear and tear on the axle bearings, eventually causing overheating and failure. This conclusion is supported by the presence and location of burnt rubber and metal pieces from the chevron springs found along the incident train's path of movement, which also suggested that the axle box had generated sufficient heat to burn the rubber of the chevron springs.
The sequence of events was further substantiated by the Hot Axle Box Detection System (HABDS), an additional monitoring tool put in place by SMRT on their own initiative to detect high temperatures to alert maintenance staff to potential issues on axle boxes. The HABDS had detected elevated temperatures on one of the axle boxes of the incident train prior to the incident.
Based on the updated timeline for the replacement of KHI trains, in December 2023, SMRT had commenced a cycle of modular overhaul for 38 KHI trains that were still in service and required overhaul of their safety critical components, including the incident train. By the time of the incident on 25 September 2024, 18 had been overhauled, but the Incident Train had not. Therefore, LTA intends to impose a financial penalty of three million Singapore dollars on SMRT, with the money collected going to the Public Transport Fund.
The LTA has said that it has completed its investigations into the root cause of the SMRT train service disruption on the East-West Line (EWL) between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations that occurred from 25 to 30 September 2024.
On 25 September 2024, a dislodged axle box caused the wheels of a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train to fall off and damage the track, which required repair works that were carried out over six days. The recovered axle box and axle bearing were badly damaged, with the grease in the axle box completely burnt off. In addition, the recovered chevron spring debris was too badly damaged, making identification of any initial damage prior to the incident as well as establishing a root cause nigh impossible.
Therefore, in its investigations, LTA concluded that a likely cause of the failure was degraded grease in the axle box, which can increase wear and tear on the axle bearings, eventually causing overheating and failure. This conclusion is supported by the presence and location of burnt rubber and metal pieces from the chevron springs found along the incident train's path of movement, which also suggested that the axle box had generated sufficient heat to burn the rubber of the chevron springs.
The sequence of events was further substantiated by the Hot Axle Box Detection System (HABDS), an additional monitoring tool put in place by SMRT on their own initiative to detect high temperatures to alert maintenance staff to potential issues on axle boxes. The HABDS had detected elevated temperatures on one of the axle boxes of the incident train prior to the incident.
Based on the updated timeline for the replacement of KHI trains, in December 2023, SMRT had commenced a cycle of modular overhaul for 38 KHI trains that were still in service and required overhaul of their safety critical components, including the incident train. By the time of the incident on 25 September 2024, 18 had been overhauled, but the Incident Train had not. Therefore, LTA intends to impose a financial penalty of three million Singapore dollars on SMRT, with the money collected going to the Public Transport Fund.
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