Repairing damaged tracks along EWL must be done carefully & requires time: Chee Hong Tat

More than 300 engineers and technicians from the Land Transport Authority and SMRT have been working around the clock to conduct repairs along the damaged tracks of the East-West Line (EWL).

Speaking to the media late on Sep. 26 along the tracks of the EWL near Clementi station, transport minister Chee Hong Tat highlighted the extent of the damage and the workers' need to do the repair work carefully, which requires a lot of time.

It was announced on Sep. 26 evening that there will be no train service along the EWL between Jurong East station and Buona Vista station on Sep. 27.

SMRT aims to restore full service on Sep. 30 (Monday).

Extensive damage

On Sep. 25 morning, a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train that had been in service for over 35 years developed a fault along the EWL.

As it was being withdrawn, it damaged the tracks, including the running rails and a third rail supplying power to the train.

LTA and SMRT investigations revealed that a defective train axle box was dropped from the KHI train, causing the wheels of a bogie to come off the running rail between Dover and Clementi station.

Each train on the EWL has six cars. Each car has two bogies, and each bogie has an axle box.

The dropped axle box led to 34 rail breaks across 1.6km of tracks between the two stations.

It also caused damage to three-point machines that are used to divert the train to different tracks.

In addition, the third rail, which supplies power to the train, as well as power cables and rail clips, sustained damage.

Chee noted the challenges in replacing the damaged rail segments along the stretch between Clementi and Dover station.

Each segment weighs "more than a tonne", so it is "an effort" to bring in the new replacements and replace the segments.

The damaged third rail, power cables that supply power to the trains, and point machines also need to be carefully calibrated and aligned.

Express thanks

Chee thanked the workers for doing their best to restore full train services as quickly and safely as possible and for conducting the necessary checks and testing to ensure that when train services resume, it will be safe for the commuters.

He also expressed his thanks to One Transport Family, SBS and Tower Transit for working to provide bridging buses to ferry passengers.

Lastly, Chee thanked the commuters for their understanding and patience, as well as for showing care and concern for the staff.

"One Transport Family, together with our operators, our workers, we pledge that we will do our best to finish the repair works in a safe manner, as quickly as possible.

SMRT has said that they target to complete this by Monday (Sep. 30), and that is our target. We'll do our best to achieve this together as a team."

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Top photos via Mothership