The March 22 tragedy near Pasir Ris MRT station, where two SMRT maintenance staff members were killed, occurred after safety procedures were not followed, SMRT said on Monday in a media statement (see below).

The SMRT's Accident Review Panel has concluded investigations and determined that vital safety protection measures were not taken and that the deaths of Nasrulhudin Najumudin, 26, and Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24, could have been avoided had those measures been put into place.

Events leading up to tragedy

On the day of the accident, a joint engineering team of 15 staff -- comprising six signal staff members (which includes four trainees) and nine permanent way staff members (including two trainees) -- were tasked to examine a signaling monitoring device along the tracks near Pasir Ris MRT Station.

The engineering team made its way to the device in single file along the maintenance walkway, after it had earlier registered a warning of a possible fault that could affect train service.

As they approached the device, the signal team, led by a supervisor, stepped onto the track before the protection measures were implemented.

The supervisor narrowly avoided being hit by the oncoming train, but Nasrulhudin and Muhammad Asyraf, who were second and third in line, were unable to react in time.

Safety measures that should have been followed

Before a work team is allowed onto the track, protection measures must be taken.

This includes setting the speed limit on the affected track sector to 0 kmh to stop any train from entering on automated mode.

Watchmen are also deployed to look out for approaching trains.

Even though the panel determined that existing safety protection mechanisms are adequate, these measures were not taken and that the effectiveness of such protection before entry into the work site was not ensured as required under existing procedures, directly causing the accident.

The panel comprised of members of the SMRT Board Risk Committee and three independent experts from Keppel Corporation, Transport for London which runs the London Underground, and a former staff member of Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway Corporation.

SMRT said that its report has been submitted to the Ministry of Manpower, Singapore Police Force and Land Transport Authority to help with their statutory investigations.

SMRT also said that it "deeply regrets" the failure to put into place safety procedures that led to the two deaths.

Related article:

5 safety questions that SMRT needs to address in light of the tragedy that killed two trainees

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