Door glitch not an open-and-shut case
CHRISTOPHER TAN, THE STRAITS TIMES
May 05, 2017 06:00 am
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is investigating Wednesday’s disruption on the Downtown Line, even as operator SBS Transit struggles to fix the station platform doors which affected Singapore’s newest MRT line for seven hours.
As of yesterday, one of the 12 malfunctioning doors remained inoperable and was cordoned off.
An SBS Transit employee was seen in front of the door, signalling to train passengers to use the other doors.
An LTA spokesman said the authority was investigating the incident, and that the fault was “isolated to two doors on the platform”.
On Wednesday, all 12 doors on the southbound side of the station would not open automatically when the trains pulled in, and had to be operated manually.
The problem, which led to slower train services, was found at 5.45am. More than a day later, one door remained disabled.
The National University of Singapore said three students were late for their papers, but were given the full duration of the exams.
Wednesday’s malfunctioning doors, believed to have been caused by a short circuit, were the third door-related fault on the Downtown Line in the past seven months.
On Oct 4 last year, a dislodged platform door at the line’s Sixth Avenue station disrupted service for two hours. The fault was traced to a loose bolt.
On Feb 2 this year, a door at Bugis station was cordoned off because of cracks on the glass.
The doors on the Downtown Line were supplied by Faiveley Transport of France, which refused to comment. The LTA was unable to say yesterday if Faiveley Transport had supplied doors to other lines.
The company has a venture with SMRT Corp subsidiary Singapore Rail Engineering to market and supply maintenance, repair and overhaul services for rolling stock components in South-east Asia.
SBS Transit was unable to comment on the remaining door which could not be fixed.
The Straits Times understands that the operator will try to locate and rectify the flaw during engineering hours this morning.
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I would like to find out how many brothers and sistas were you affected by the last 2 days of train disruptions ? Such world class transport service indeed .
Downtown Line door flaw fixed, says SBS Transit
Published May 6, 2017, 5:00 am SGT
Christopher Tan
Senior Transport Correspondent
Downtown Line (DTL) operator SBS Transit has fixed the last malfunctioning door at Botanic Gardens station, but it still does not know what caused the glitch.
SBS Transit spokesman Tammy Tan said a faulty cable and connector had been replaced.
The affected components have been sent for investigations.
The fault, which was discovered at 5.45am on Wednesday, hampered signalling communication from the trains, and rendered all platform doors on the southbound side of the Botanic Gardens station inoperable when trains pulled in.
Station platform doors are synchronised with the train’s signalling system. A two-way communication lets the doors open when the train has come to a full stop; and the train will move off only when all doors are closed. On Wednesday morning, station staff had to open and close the doors manually, by pushing a button. This led to slower train services during the morning peak.
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Man who left luggage unattended at Hougang Station charged with causing public nuisance
By Alfred Chua
Published: 9:40 AM, May 17, 2017
Updated: 9:58 AM, May 17, 2017
SINGAPORE — The man who left a luggage behind at Hougang MRT station last month has been charged with one count of causing public nuisance on Wednesday (May 17) after his unattended luggage sparked a security scare, leading to the station’s closure for around two hours.
Wang Jianpo, 39, told the court he intends to plead guilty.
On April 2, Wang had left a blue luggage bag at the boarding platform of the station, to go run an errand.
The bag was discovered around 2.40pm that day, and the station was shut shortly after. Passengers were told that there was a “security incident”, and that all North-East Line (NEL) trains would not stop at Hougang station.
The bag was then opened around 4pm, and its contents - mainly household items - were found to be non-dangerous, said transport operator SBS Transit, which operates the NEL.
Wang was subsequently arrested at around 4.35pm that day, and was escorted out of the station, in handcuffs, some three hours later.
Wang could face a fine of up to S$1,000.
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Downtown Line disruption on May 3 caused by water leakage: SBS Transit
Published: 5:49 PM, May 18, 2017
Updated: 7:53 PM, May 18, 2017
SINGAPORE – Water leakage had caused the Platform Screen Doors (PSDs) at the Botanic Gardens Station to malfunction earlier this month, SBS Transit said in a press release on Thursday (May 18).
The glitch caused the Downtown Line (DTL) to hit a seven-hour snarl, its longest to date.
In a statement on Thursday (May 18), SBS Transit said: “The water seepage was caused by natural groundwater seeping in from the space above the PSD. The seepage has since been grouted by injecting a polyurethane chemical to fill the void, and act as a water stop.”
Following the May 3 incident, SBS Transit also ran a check of all DTL and North-East Line PSDs and their electrical wiring and components. Minor water seepage was found at two PSDs at the King Albert Park Station.
However, their electrical components were not affected and SBS Transit had since grouted the seepage.
The PSDs at Botanic Gardens station were last checked in September 2016 as part of routine maintenance. None were found to be faulty and no water seepage was observed then.
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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...ge-sbs-transit
Sure or not ? Not hardware problem ?
MRT train reliability improved in Q1: LTA
By Kenneth Cheng
Published: 12:00 PM, May 24, 2017
Updated: 12:36 PM, May 24, 2017
SINGAPORE — Trains across the MRT network travelled further in the first quarter of this year before hitting short delays, with a more than two-fold improvement over last year’s performance.
Releasing its rail report card on Wednesday (May 24), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said trains across all lines travelled an average of 354,000 train-km before hitting delays of more than five minutes in the first quarter.
This is more than double the “mean kilometre between failure” (MKBF) — a measure of train reliability — of 174,000 train-km registered for the whole of last year.
The Downtown and North-East lines were the top performers and recorded the steepest improvements. The Downtown Line turned in an MKBF of 1,033,000 train-km, up from 260,000 train-km last year. The North-East Line clocked 973,000 train-km, markedly higher than last year’s 174,000 train-km.
Meanwhile, the North-South and Circle lines recorded an almost two-fold improvement: The North-South Line had an MKBF of 291,000 train-km, up from last year’s 156,000 train-km, while the Circle Line registered 452,000 train-km, an improvement over last year’s 228,000 train-km.
The East-West Line, which showed the smallest improvement, clocked 215,000 train-km, a 48 per cent improvement from last year’s 145,000 train-km.
There was one major delay of more than half an hour — on the East-West Line — in the first quarter, compared with an average of four per quarter across the MRT network last year.
On the Light Rail Transit (LRT) network, reliability also improved across both the Bukit Panjang and Sengkang-Punggol LRT lines. They recorded an MKBF of 65,000 car-km in the first quarter, a 33 per cent improvement from last year’s 49,000 car-km.
Major LRT delays stood at four in the first quarter, a touch lower than the average of 4.5 per quarter last year.
The LTA attributed the improvements in MRT reliability to “steady progress” of major infrastructural renewal projects and investments by public transport operators in enhancing maintenance procedures and incident-recovery processes.
The Government has set an MKBF target of 300,000 train-km for the rail network this year. This will be bumped up to 400,000 train-km next year.
While the network’s performance has exceeded the target, LTA deputy chief executive (infrastructure and development) Chua Chong Kheng acknowledged that “this is only the first quarter” and the next step is to “sustain” the effort through the year and do even better.
Saying that it was “not easy” and a lot of work had to be done, he said: “As long as we’re putting in our best effort to upgrade, renew the systems and the operators continue to put in effort to … do quality maintenance work, we’re quite optimistic that we can achieve the targets.”
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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...mproved-q1-lta
Sure or not ? Fake news ?
Weekday signalling tests on North-South Line will start next week
By Kenneth Cheng
Published: 12:00 PM, May 24, 2017
Updated: 12:36 PM, May 24, 2017
SINGAPORE — The new signalling system that is expected to shorten waiting times on the North-South Line will enter one of its final stages of testing from next week.
This time, it would be put through the paces on weekdays, and the tests will involve the line’s full fleet of 124 trains.
Mr Chua Chong Kheng, deputy chief executive for infrastructure and development with the Land Transport Authority (LTA), said that the upcoming trials would be the “real test”, since it would also involve a larger number of commuters.
The trials have been expanded progressively, starting from March when it was tested during the last hour of weekday services to it being tested on Sundays since last month, with 55 trains in the drill.
The Sunday tests — set to last two months from April 16 — will continue, and the system will be tested on one or more weekdays during the week.
Describing this as a “major step forward”, Mr Chua said that “full testing” would be done “in a very cautious manner”, anticipating that there could be some delays as rail operator SMRT works through teething issues.
For example, with more commuters, problems would have to be resolved in the shortest possible time, as crowd build-up would be “quite significant” and problems that crop up during peak-hour would be “very disruptive compared with a Sunday”.
Should such incidents happen, SMRT will deploy more ground crew at the stations to help and guide commuters.
During earlier trials, there were times when the platform screen doors failed to open and trains overran stations.
Mr Chua explained that, in rainy conditions, stopping trains accurately at above-ground stations was a challenge — especially with the system having to work with “four different fleets of trains” on the North-South Line.
In wet conditions, there are “adhesion” issues and wheels “get locked and slide” at times, causing trains to misalign with the platform screen doors.
These could cause delays as time is needed for trains to return to position and for the doors to open. “We seek commuters’ understanding… that there could be some delays and we’ll try to resolve these as quickly as possible as they happen,” he added.
However, such problems have improved over the weeks of testing, Mr Chua said, and SMRT’s contractor for the system, Thales, has put in place solutions.
Among other things, the LTA has been working with SMRT and Thales to make software adjustments, in an effort to fine-tune the “braking profile” of trains to slow them down as they enter stations, particularly in wet weather.
In the interim, the LTA has also been looking at a speed restriction, especially at stations with “steep gradients” that can cause trains to enter stations “very fast”.
While he did not specify a working schedule, Mr Chua said that the signalling system would be rolled out sometime this year when the LTA is “comfortable that the system is performing as expected” and most of the issues have been resolved.
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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...tart-next-week
Expect to have more delays ?
Expect some glitches on North-South Line as weekday signal tests start: SMRT
26 May 2017 11:12AM (Updated: 26 May 2017 11:20AM)
SINGAPORE: Commuters on the North-South Line (NSL) may encounter some glitches as weekday checks on the new signalling system start next Monday (May 29), SMRT said.
Commuters may experience instances of train and platform doors not opening or closing promptly, trains held at stations slightly longer than usual or trains stopping momentarily between stations, the rail operator said on Friday. This is as the new system settles in to full-load operations, it added.
To minimise commuter inconvenience, SMRT said it scheduled the weekday system checks to begin during the June holidays. However, those travelling on the NSL are still advised to cater for additional travelling time, it said.
Engineers from SMRT, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Thales, the supplier of the signalling system, have been monitoring the performance of the signalling system closely since NSL trains started using the new system in late March, although engineers are still rectifying “teething issues”, SMRT said.
Read more at
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...-tests-8884910
New equipment also will have problems ? Do you think it is fair to your commuters who will be late for their work and appointment ?
Two men arrested for causing public alarm after leaving bags unattended at MRT station
Published 8:08 AM, May 26, 2017
Updated 9:09 AM, May 26, 2017
SINGAPORE – Two men aged 25 and 27 were arrested for an offence of Public Nuisance after they left three bags unattended at Aljunied MRT station on Friday (May 26) morning.
TODAY understands that the two men are from Bangladesh.
The police said that officers were alerted to the three unattended bags at the concourse of Aljunied MRT station at 9.52am.
In a statement, SMRT said the unattended bags were found during a regular security check. “Our station staff observed three unattended bags at Exit B of Aljunied MRT station around 9.45am this (Friday) morning. Our staff immediately alerted TransComm officers to the incident,” said Mr Patrick Nathan, Vice President for Corporate Information and Communications.
Officers from the Bedok Police Division and Public Transport Security Command, with the assistance of SMRT staff, traced and detained the owners of the bags at Aljunied MRT station at about 10.15 am.
The three bags were later established to contain only food and household items.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the two men had intentionally left their bags at the concourse area while they went to the toilet at the station. Investigations are still ongoing.
In Friday’s release, the Police said they treat all security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against anyone who intentionally cause public alarm.
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Rush-hour North-South Line train delays due to signalling checks: SMRT
01 Jun 2017 07:02PM (Updated: 01 Jun 2017 07:32PM)
SINGAPORE: Commuters along the North-South train line were told to expect up to 20 minutes’ additional travelling time in either direction during rush hour on Thursday (Jun 1) due to signalling checks, transport operator SMRT said.
In an announcement on Twitter on Thursday evening, SMRT said this affects all stations along the line - from Jurong East to Marina South Pier.
The transport operator later added that free bus services were available between Jurong East and Choa Chu Kang stations, as well as City Hall and Ang Mo Kio stations.
In an update at 7.17pm, SMRT said train services were progressively returning to normal speeds, and that commuters could expect an extra 15 minutes’ travelling time.
Commuter Christopher Chai told Channel NewsAsia that a train was stuck at Novena station for at least 15 minutes.
Another commuter, Priscilla Low, told Channel NewsAsia that Bishan MRT station was extremely crowded at about 6.40pm, as she tried to reach the platform. “But the crowd dispersed and the queue was cut short after the free bus service was announced,” she said.
Read more at
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...checks-8903628
Knn new equipment also got problem .
Well done SMRT & LTA . Such world class transport system indeed. So will the CEO of SMRT resign and take responsibility ?