Trains on the 30-year old North-South Line were stopped for about seven minutes during passenger service hours on Thursday (30th March) night for the second trial of a new communications-based train control system by the Land Transport Authority and train operator SMRT.
The new signalling system will allow trains to run 100 seconds apart instead of the 120 seconds of the existing fixed-block signalling system - an upgrade that may help alleviate the rush-hour crushes that have plagued commuters of late. However, no date has yet been set for the replacement of the old system with the new.
The first trial had taken place on Tuesday (28th March), when trains stopped for about 10 minutes from 11:10pm to 11:20pm while the new signalling system was activated. SMRT said in a Facebook post on Thursday evening (30th March) that that trial had been 'successful'.
