Recent train disruptions due to human error and equipment failure
30 Jan 2014|2,734 views
SMRT has provided an update on its investigations into the delays on the North-South and East-West lines as requested by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew a week ago.
In the most recent incident, the 'oversight and non-compliance' of a train captain caused disruption to services that lasted up to an hour near Tanah Merah. According to SMRT spokesman, Alina Boey, the train captain did not follow a signal light on the track between the station of Expo and Tanah Merah, and as per standard safety procedure - had to suspend train services so that its engineers could check the network was working safely.
According toThe Straits Times, the driver failed to stop and wait for authorisation to continue when he arrived at the junction connecting the Changi extension to the East-West Line to Tanah Merah. It is noteworthy trains that pass signal points without authorisation could potentially damage the tracks.
In the second incident on January 20th, a technician failed to close two circuit breakers after a routine night service of a train - which caused the train's battery to drain to a level that automatically triggered a safety mechanism to prevent it from moving further.
The train stalled between Yio Chu Kang and Ang Mo Kio stations at 8:11am and had to be pushed to the Ang Mo Kio station by another train behind, where passengers began alighting at 8.54am.
The peak hour disruption affected up to 19,000 commuters. Regarding this, Ms Boey said pre-launch train checks will be supervised more thoroughly.
The third disruption, which occurred on the 11th of January, was due to a damaged cable that caused a train to stall between Kranji and Yew Tee stations. Due to this commuters had to get out and walk on the tracks to the station platform.
The cable, worn out by chafing against an installation bracket, cut off the power supply between the two stations. The SMRT spokesperson cited the cable has been repaired, and there are no other points that might be worn out after system-wide checks were carried out.
In the response, Ms Boey also added SMRT is placing a condition monitoring system.
Yet, adding to the consecutive slew of disruptions - a track fault delayed train services on the North-South Line last night. According to the English daily, SMRT is investigating why trains that passed a point on the tracks were switched to manual mode. Due to this, trains crawled to a speed of 18km/h, which led to longer journeys for commuters travelling between Ang Mo Kio and Marina Bay in both directions.
SMRT has provided an update on its investigations into the delays on the North-South and East-West lines as requested by Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew a week ago.
In the most recent incident, the 'oversight and non-compliance' of a train captain caused disruption to services that lasted up to an hour near Tanah Merah. According to SMRT spokesman, Alina Boey, the train captain did not follow a signal light on the track between the station of Expo and Tanah Merah, and as per standard safety procedure - had to suspend train services so that its engineers could check the network was working safely.
According toThe Straits Times, the driver failed to stop and wait for authorisation to continue when he arrived at the junction connecting the Changi extension to the East-West Line to Tanah Merah. It is noteworthy trains that pass signal points without authorisation could potentially damage the tracks.
In the second incident on January 20th, a technician failed to close two circuit breakers after a routine night service of a train - which caused the train's battery to drain to a level that automatically triggered a safety mechanism to prevent it from moving further.
The train stalled between Yio Chu Kang and Ang Mo Kio stations at 8:11am and had to be pushed to the Ang Mo Kio station by another train behind, where passengers began alighting at 8.54am.
The peak hour disruption affected up to 19,000 commuters. Regarding this, Ms Boey said pre-launch train checks will be supervised more thoroughly.
The third disruption, which occurred on the 11th of January, was due to a damaged cable that caused a train to stall between Kranji and Yew Tee stations. Due to this commuters had to get out and walk on the tracks to the station platform.
The cable, worn out by chafing against an installation bracket, cut off the power supply between the two stations. The SMRT spokesperson cited the cable has been repaired, and there are no other points that might be worn out after system-wide checks were carried out.
In the response, Ms Boey also added SMRT is placing a condition monitoring system.
Yet, adding to the consecutive slew of disruptions - a track fault delayed train services on the North-South Line last night. According to the English daily, SMRT is investigating why trains that passed a point on the tracks were switched to manual mode. Due to this, trains crawled to a speed of 18km/h, which led to longer journeys for commuters travelling between Ang Mo Kio and Marina Bay in both directions.
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