SMRT staff inspecting the carriages of the affected train outside Ulu Pandan Depot at about 1.45pm on Sept 25. - ST
SINGAPORE: The disruption of train services along a stretch of the East-West Line between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations will continue into a third day, after checks found that a faulty train had caused extensive damage to tracks and trackside equipment on Wednesday (Sept 25).
Rail operator SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are aiming to partially restore services on Sept 27, and run a shuttle train service every 20 minutes along the affected stretch.
The second-longest rail disruption in Singapore to date affected about 358,000 passengers on Sept 25. Another 516,000 will have their journeys disrupted on Sept 26.
It was triggered by a first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries train, which encountered a fault at around 9am on Sept 25 and was withdrawn to Ulu Pandan Depot, said LTA and SMRT in a statement.
While en route to the depot, a defective axle box on the third carriage of the six-carriage train dropped onto the tracks near Dover station, causing one bogie to come off the running rail. This is the first time such an incident has happened.
A bogie is a structure below the train carriage with two sets of wheels. Each wheelset has two axle boxes attached to it.
With one bogie derailed, the train - which has been in service for more than 35 years - damaged the tracks and equipment on the tracks as it was being withdrawn from service.
This caused a power trip at around 9.25am, disrupting train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations.
Engineers found a total of 34 rail breaks, such as cracks or chips, along 1.6km of tracks between Clementi and Dover stations after overnight checks. The train also damaged three point machines that are used to divert the train to different tracks, stretches of the third rail which supplies power to trains, as well as power cables and rail clips.
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who is in China on a work trip, said engineers from LTA and SMRT have been working through the night to assess the damaged tracks and equipment and carry out repairs.
“As the damage is very extensive, they need more time to complete the repairs and then... carry out tests and checks to ensure commuter safety before fully restoring train services,” he said in a video message posted to Facebook.
Chee added: “I would like to offer my sincere apologies to all our commuters for the disruption. Our workers are doing their best to safely restore train services as soon as possible.”
LTA and SMRT added that SMRT’s engineers and technicians have been working continuously since Sept 25 to restore and replace the damaged tracks and equipment.
The shuttle service between Jurong East and Buona Vista will ply only along the eastbound track, which is less severely damaged and requires fewer repairs than the westbound track.
Besides this service, SMRT will continue to operate shuttle train services between Buona Vista and Queenstown stations, and between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations.
About 80 double-deck buses have been deployed to provide free bridging services for affected commuters in both directions between Jurong East and Buona Vista.
In addition, 620 ground staff from LTA, SMRT, transport operators SBS Transit and Tower Transit as well as police officers helped manage the crowds during the morning peak period on Sept 26.
LTA and SMRT also carried out functionality checks on the axle boxes of all Kawasaki trains before these were put in service, and all passed the checks. - The Straits Times/ANN
