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An SMRT staff member and his supervisor have been suspended after an error compounded the disruption of the three-line train during the afternoon rush of October 14.
The worker had misread a graphic display and thought the initial fault, which caused a power outage along the North-South and East-West sections of the lines, had been isolated, the SMRT CEO said yesterday, Neo Kian Hong.
This caused a second disruption to parts of the Circle Line, making the disruption worse and eventually affecting some 123,000 commuters.
In a joint briefing with the Land Transportation Authority and systems provider Alstom to explain what went wrong, Neo said the couple will need to undergo further training and recertification before they can resume their duties.
Human error was one of several problems that plagued the train network that night. (See the infographic to the right).
Apologizing for the disruption, Neo said that Alstom has committed to replacing the 150 km of power cable along the Western Tuas Extension.
This will be completed by the end of next year.
There were already plans to replace some of the cables this month after four similar cable faults were found along the 7.5km-long extension since it opened in 2017.
As an added precaution, Alstom will also replace the 113 firing coils throughout the extension by the end of this year.
To facilitate replacements, there will be an early closure of the stations starting next month, as well as late openings or even all-day closings on Sundays for limited periods next year. The French company will bear the cost of the works.
You are still investigating the cause of the trip wire and coil failures. A visual check of the malfunctioning breaker on October 6 found no problems.
Meanwhile, SMRT will increase the frequency of its circuit breaker checks from once a year to once every six months.
They will also review your energy recovery protocols.
Neo said, “There are lessons to be learned and we will do better.”
FOR MORE, READ THE TIMES OF THE STRAIT
Chronology of events
Oct 14, 6.58pm
- A power outage caused by simultaneous failures along the Tuas West Extension closes train services between Woodlands and Jurong East stations on the North-South Line and between Queenstown and Gul Circle stations on the East-West Line. This causes 12 trains to stop on the tracks. It also affects the lighting and air conditioning of the train.
- The backup battery on the affected trains is activated to provide emergency lighting and ventilation.
7.34 pm
- An attempt to draw power from the Buona Vista substation causes a second power outage, affecting service between HarbourFront and Serangoon stations on the Circle Line.
- As a result, three trains stop.
7.38 pm
- SMRT decides to disembark passengers from stopped trains as it cannot restore power quickly.
- As a safety measure, electrical protection devices are installed to protect against accidental ignition of the traction power.
- SMRT staff members walk along the tracks to reach stopped trains and assist commuters.
7.53 pm
- NSEWL passengers begin to abandon stopped trains.
19:59 h
- CCL passengers begin to leave the trains.
8 pm
- Power supply for CCL is restored, but SMRT does not restore tractive power along sectors where derailment is occurring, for safety reasons.
8.17 pm
- All stranded CCL passengers arrive at the nearest stations.
8.42 pm
- Passengers on 11 trains stopped at NSEWL arrive at the nearest stations.
8.43 pm
- Train services along CCL are progressively resumed.
8.44 pm
- The last train derailment near Bukit Batok station was temporarily halted due to the risk of rain and lightning, with 78 passengers still on board.
9.43 pm
- The 78 passengers arrive at Bukit Batok station.
22:34 h
- Train services are progressively restored at the NSEWL.
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