Transport Minister: Boon Lay-Queenstown train services may not resume tomorrow; SMRT leaders apologise
SINGAPORE: In response to the major disruption along the East-West Line (EWL) affecting train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations today (25 September), Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat addressed the situation from Beijing, where he is attending the Global Sustainable Transport Forum.
Mr. Chee confirmed that there is a possibility normal train services may not resume tomorrow, as the teams from SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will assess the situation and provide updates during engineering hours tonight.
He also emphasized LTA’s commitment to conducting a thorough investigation into the incident to identify areas for improvement.
Separately, SMRT Chairman Seah Moon Ming and GCEO Ngien Hoon Ping issued apologies to commuters on Wednesday afternoon.
They explained that the disruption was caused by an “unforeseen issue” during the withdrawal of an old train, wherein a defective axle box on one of SMRT’s first-generation trains dropped.
This led to “the wheels of a bogie to come off the running rail and hit track equipment, including the third rail and point machines, leading to the power fault.”
“At SMRT, we hold the safety and well-being of our commuters and our staff as our highest priority. We fully understand the inconvenience, frustration, and delays this disruption has caused, and we deeply regret the impact it has had on your journey,” they stated.
Both the SMRT Chairman and GCEO assured that they are working diligently to restore services as quickly as possible.
“Once again, we extend our sincerest apologies for the disruption and deeply appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued trust in SMRT.”
In a Facebook post, Minister Chee confirmed that the disruption was linked to a train fault near Clementi MRT Station.
As SMRT worked to withdraw the damaged train, it caused significant damage to the tracks, including the running rails and the third rail that supplies power to the trains. Due to the extent of the damage, normal train services could not resume for the remainder of Wednesday.
To alleviate commuter inconvenience, SMRT will provide shuttle train services between Boon Lay and Jurong East (interchange with the North-South Line) and between Queenstown and Buona Vista (interchange with the Circle Line). Additionally, bridging bus services will be offered at no cost to commuters.
Acknowledging the potential impact on students taking the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE), Minister Chee stated he is in contact with the Ministry of Education and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board to prepare contingencies.
“I would like to thank commuters for their patience and also express my appreciation to our transport workers who are working hard to restore the train service as soon as possible.
SMRT to be fined S$3 million for operational, maintenance lapses which led to East-West Line disruption
SINGAPORE: Public transport operator SMRT will be fined S$3 million (US$2.33 million) due to lapses which led to an incident and subsequent six-day disruption along the East-West Line in September 2024.
In a report released on Tuesday (Jun 3), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said these lapses included maintenance intervals being extended beyond stipulations, in part due to COVID-19 delays on new train arrivals.
A warning system that malfunctioned on the day of the incident also could have prevented the disruption, according to a report from the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) also released on Tuesday.
On Sep 25, a defective component known as an axle box dropped from a train and onto the tracks, causing a bogie - or an undercarriage with wheels - to come off the running rail between Dover and Clementi MRT stations.
This resulted in extensive damage to the tracks and other equipment, and disrupted MRT services along nine stations from Boon Lay to Queenstown.
An estimated 500,000 out of 2.8 million train journeys were affected on each day, with train services resuming six days later on Oct 1.
BEFORE THE INCIDENT
The train in the incident was among 66 in SMRT's first-generation KHI fleet which were rolled out in the late 1980s. They are progressively being replaced by new Movia trains.
Initially, 66 Movia trains were to be handed over to SMRT by March 2024, with the first batch in October 2021.
But due to the COVID-19 pandemic there was a delay of 1.5 years, and the first Movia train was only handed over in May 2023.
Upon receiving the first Movia trains, SMRT began decommissioning the KHI trains.
But SMRT was required to continue carrying out regular maintenance for the KHI trains still in service, including preventive works and overhaul - which refers to a complete tear-down and rebuild to restore it to an "as-good-as-new" condition.
But by the time of the incident on Sep 25, 18 KHI trains had been overhauled, but the incident train was not among them.
The stipulated overhaul interval was 500,000km, but SMRT twice extended the interval: First to 575,000km in August 2022, and then to 750,000km in August 2024.
At the time of the incident, the train had logged 690,000km since its last overhaul in 2018.
“These extensions were carried out based on SMRT’s internal procedures, and SMRT had relied on analysis of the performance of the KHI train fleet and their continued reliability in deciding on these extensions of the overhaul intervals for the incident train,” said LTA in its report.
The authority also noted that since axle box failures were not common, SMRT did not undertake a detailed engineering risk assessment on extending the axle box overhaul interval.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, president of SMRT Trains Lam Sheau Kai, said the operator's overhaul regime has served it well over the past 38 years.
“What may have caught us off-guard this time was the convergence of factors - delays in new train deliveries due to COVID-19, our efforts to balance and adjust overhaul schedules, and the lag in receiving critical spare parts.”
He added that for “rare, black swan events like COVID-19”, it is important that transport operator SMRT and asset owner LTA come together to “reassess collectively”.
“In hindsight, we could perhaps have exercised greater caution in how we managed the transition and decommissioning of the older trains,” he said.
Responding to queries from CNA, an LTA spokesperson said: "Learning from the incident, LTA will provide more time buffer in future procurement to mitigate against unforeseen supply chain disruptions."
ON THE DAY ITSELF
The root cause of the axle box failure could not be determined as key train components involved were too badly burnt and damaged in the incident, said LTA.
These parts were the axle box itself, which secures the wheels to the axle; the axle bearings, which reduce friction so the wheels spin smoothly; and the chevron springs which contain rubber to absorb shocks to keep the ride smooth.
The axle box had dislodged from the third carriage of the train, causing extensive damage to the tracks.
A total of 46 rail breaks were identified in a 2.55km stretch between Dover station and stretching beyond Clementi station, which took days to repair.
Both LTA and TSIB noted the incident could have been prevented with a more timely overhaul of the train systems.
“Had the incident train been overhauled in a more timely manner, the condition of its axle box assemblies would have been checked and any degraded grease could have been replaced earlier,” said LTA.
TSIB noted that SMRT’s experience was that the axle boxes had been problem-free when its trains were overhauled at 500,000 km.
“However, when the overhaul interval was stretched beyond 500,000 km, the quality of the axle boxes and chevron springs, as well as their components, were no more assured,” said TSIB.
Mr Lam from SMRT said similar axle box dislodgement incidents have occurred in other metro systems, but are not common.
“These are extremely rare, sudden, and catastrophic incidents,” he said. “Even for those metros, such failures caught them off-guard due to their acute nature.
More at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/smrt-east-west-line-ewl-disruption-lta-3-million-fine-tsib-5163921