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SINGAPORE: An “honest mistake” was one of the contributing factors to the disruption of train services on October 14, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said in Parliament on Tuesday (November 3).
Services on parts of the Circle Line were disrupted after an initial power failure affected the North-South East-West Line (NSEWL).
The Land Transportation Authority (LTA) had said in an incident report that to restore power to the NSEWL, an attempt was made to draw power from a substation, but this was done without first isolating the fault. Then there was a power outage on the Circle line, which is also served by the substation.
This was human error, Ong said, referring to the attempt to extract power from the Buona Vista intake substation before isolating the fault.
He answered questions from three members of Parliament: Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Joan Pereira, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Saktiandi Supaat, and Hougang Workers’ Party MP Dennis Tan.
They had asked about the causes of the outages, the lessons learned and whether emergency preparedness exercises are carried out regularly to ensure that relevant teams know what to do in the event of a power outage.
READ: MRT outage on Oct 14 triggers system overhaul, with early weekend closures starting in November
“There are indeed many sets of SOPs to suit different scenarios, but one thing we have learned over the years is that each interruption is different and unique. Therefore, in addition to being guided by SOPs, engineers on duty they will have to exercise judgment and make quick decisions during an emergency, “said Mr. Ong.
“I have not been in their shoes and I cannot imagine the challenge they face. But under the pressure of time and circumstances, the staff involved made an honest mistake,” he added.
“I have no doubt that this has been a great lesson for them, they wish they had decided otherwise, and they have a lot to learn to share with their colleagues so that this mistake does not happen again.”
Timeline: how a power failure caused an hour-long outage on three MRT lines on October 14
SMRT CEO Neo Kian Hong said last week his employees misread the graphical display and thought the fault had been isolated when they took power from the Buona Vista substation.
The power staff member and his supervisor have been suspended and will need to undergo retraining and recertification before they can resume their duties, he said at the time.
A melted 22 kV circuit breaker trip coil (Photo: LTA)
In response to a follow-up question from Mr. Tan on whether LTA will study how rail operators can improve their work processes, the Minister of Transport said that improvements will be made. He emphasized that suspensions are not uncommon as part of the security protocol of organizations with a strong security culture.
“Suspension does not necessarily mean that we blame them or that they are being punished because, make no mistake, if there is gross negligence, if there are intentional wrongdoing, disciplinary action will be taken,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s really a matter of retraining … self-reflection and going back and doing better and sharing your learning with your colleagues and I think it’s a good system to ensure that we keep improving.”
CABLE FAULTS
Mr. Ong also said that testing and inspection of power cables will be intensified. The faulty cables are being investigated, he said, adding that the results of the forensic examination are still unknown.
It added that there have been four power cord failures along the Tuas West Extension since 2018, and LTA and SMRT had previously expressed their concerns to supplier Alstom.
“On other lines, they generally have a life span of 20, 25, 30 years, so it’s a bit premature to have four failures in the last few years, which I think explains why Alstom is stepping up, replacing everything.” , said.
READ: Train services resume on North-South, East-West, Circle lines after disruption due to power failure
Giving more details on previous cable failures in response to a question from opposition leader Pritam Singh, Ong said that two failures occurred when the cables were first put into service in 2018. The other two occurred this year.
22kV cable failures in 2018 and 2020 (Image: LTA)
“The reasons for the failures have not been established, so given what happened, we need to send them to a forensic (examination) and understand the reason. In the meantime, regardless of the reasons, the cables will be replaced.”
TRAIN PASSENGER EVACUATION
Ong also analyzed the considerations behind whether to ask passengers to get off stopped trains and walk on the tracks.
“Passenger safety is the highest priority during service recovery. That is why untraining travelers is always a last resort because having passengers walking on the road represents a risk, especially for those who are elderly or disabled, for what should be very careful carried out, “he said.
Responding to follow-up questions from Ms. Pereira and Mr. Saktiandi, Mr. Ong explained that generally a decision has to be made on whether to “disembark” passengers in an interruption, but there are many factors involved. to consider.
“And then, like that night, there was bad weather and a risk of lightning. Once there is a risk of lightning, you stop, never put the lives of the passengers in danger. So you are balancing between these two … In this case , there was some hope that they could repower, but the repower went wrong. “
He also said that the evacuation on the Circle Line was faster than on the old MRT lines, as it has a side platform where travelers can walk and wheelchairs can be used.
Generally, at the NSEWL, older people, people in wheelchairs and people with mobility problems have to stay on a stopped train until more personnel arrive, including officers from the Singapore Civil Defense Force ( SCDF).
“If necessary, we use stretchers to take those passengers to the nearest station. The stations are also equipped with battery-operated motorized carts,” he said.
He added that passengers have to walk alongside a third high-voltage rail and could trip.
“You have to make sure you turn it off: double confirmation, triple confirmation, quadruple confirmation because it is not a joke to walk alongside 750 volts,” he said.
Passengers on a train near Kranji on the North-South Line to Woodlands were evacuated after a power failure disrupted MRT service on several lines on October 14, 2020 (Photo: Julie Chan).
The Operations Control Center must balance those risks with the discomfort and increased anxiety of travelers on stopped trains and, as far as possible, will try to restore power to the trains to take travelers to the nearest station. said Ong.
However, 40 minutes after the outage, the center concluded that it could not restore power to the system quickly and decided to “unravel,” it added.
In total, 6,800 travelers on the stopped trains were brought to the nearest station platform in less than an hour, except for 78 people who were trapped due to bad weather and the risk of lightning.
Mr. Ong concluded that there were many lessons to be learned from the incident, noting that mass rapid transit systems are very complex and when a major disruption occurs, the circumstances and causes are often unique.
“With the recent outage, team morale on the ground has taken a hit … There are many honest and hardworking people who have strived over the past few years to make our MRT services among the most reliable in the world,” said. said.
“So as a team, we take collective responsibility, not finger pointing, and we will do our best, close the gaps and address the gaps.”
