Reversing trains may help during rail faults
Commuter backlog can be reduced in this way, SMRT engineer says
By Christopher Tan, The Straits Times, 9 May 2012
WHEN rail breakdowns happen in future, passengers may have a better chance of reaching their destinations without needing to rely on buses, the MRT inquiry heard yesterday.
This is because two lines are due for a signal upgrade that will allow trains to run in both directions at normal speeds.
At the moment, if a train is reversed, it runs three times slower than usual.
But if the service is able to travel both ways at full speed, SMRT will be able to continue serving more commuters during a breakdown, said chief engineer of control operations Tay Ko San.
For example, if one side of a line is down, the other could simply be reversed temporarily, to ease the backlog of stranded passengers.
The move will free up several buses, said Mr Tay from the witness stand.
The North-South Line will receive its upgrade in 2016, with the East-West Line following two years later.
Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye, the chairman of the inquiry, was visibly excited by the prospect. 'I feel it's a very good suggestion,' he said. 'It's even better than bus bridging.'
The judge then went on to pose a question he had asked the day before, but did not receive a satisfactory answer to: How come free bus service for commuters caught in a rail disruption cannot be extended to train rides?
To this, Mr Tay said: 'It is not appropriate for me to comment.'
But Mr Tay revealed a number of other improvements due to be made to the rail system.
He said there were plans to upgrade various types of equipment in the network's operations control centre. This included its radio communications and automated train supervision systems.
But the biggest change will be moving the new improved nerve centre to the Kim Chuan Depot, which currently houses the Circle Line's control centre.
This move, which will coincide with the upgrading of the signalling system, will allow SMRT to better integrate its staff and resources, he said.
Mr Tay also revealed that a new code of practice dictates that a rail operator must contact the emergency services once commuters are asked to get off a train stranded between stations.
Currently, it does so only when it is informed that a passenger is unwell.
Earlier in the day, the first witness from the rail regulator took the stand.
Mr Soo Weng Tuck, deputy director of the Land Transport Authority's (LTA's) Transit Regulation Division, was questioned extensively on how his department made sure operators kept to a strict maintenance regime.
Ms Hoo Sheau Peng, deputy chief counsel at the Attorney-General's Chambers, asked how he and his team 'actually monitor these standards'.
He replied that the operator followed a code of practice. Ms Hoo then asked if the LTA ensures compliance.
'It is the responsibility of the operator to comply with these,' replied Mr Soo, saying that the authority conducted audits of the track infrastructure every two years.
Asked if there had been any findings of concern during these audits, Mr Soo said other than things such as work processes and documentation, the findings were 'mostly satisfactory'.
Mr Soo added that SMRT submitted four-monthly reports to the LTA. Ms Hoo asked if any mentioned 'dropped claws', referring to the dislodged claws that caused the December breakdowns.
After the breakdowns, it was revealed that claws had been dropping sporadically from the time the system started 25 years ago.
Mr Soo said the four-monthly reports did not mention claws dropping.
Professor Lim Mong King of the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, who co-chairs the inquiry, asked how the LTA team could have missed detecting the drop-claw issue.
Mr Soo said in defence that the team 'was not informed by the operator that claws were dropping'. But after further questioning, he said the operator will now have to volunteer information about dropped claws.
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