PSP calls on Transport Minister to hold Committee of Inquiry for MRT EWL disruption

The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) has called on Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat to convene a Committee of Inquiry (COI) to look into the SMRT train disruption in end-September 2024.

The disruption, which began on Sep. 25 and affected service on the East-West Line between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations, lasted until Sep. 30, before service resumed on Oct. 1.

Thanked engineers and workers, called for COI

PSP's statement, released on Oct. 1 by Secretary-General Hazel Poa, began by thanking SMRT's engineers and workers who had "worked day and night through the sun and rain" to restore service.

The party also highlighted the efforts of the support staff who helped commuters and maintained order, as well as bus captains who provided bridging services.

While PSP appreciated the regular updates on the state of the repairs, it said a train disruption of this scale brings "great inconvenience" to many commuters:

"It is therefore imperative that a thorough investigation be conducted to determine the causes, whether they could have been prevented, and review the current maintenance and inspection regimes.

We therefore call on the Minister for Transport to convene a Committee of Inquiry."

Feedback

PSP added that over the weekend, they spoke to affected residents who provided feedback on how interim transport measures could be further improved.

One suggestion was for the government to call on employers to grant work from home arrangements for affected employees where possible, to reduce strain on the public transport system.

Another was for SMRT to deploy more ground personnel at stations to guide commuters.

They added: "We hope these feedback can be useful to the Ministry of Transport and SMRT. When the chips are down, we must all work together to make things better for Singaporeans."

Mothership has contacted the Ministry of Transport for comment.

You can see PSP's statement in full below:

Breakdown

The disruption occurred when a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train that had been in service for over 35 years developed a fault.

As it was being withdrawn, it damaged the tracks, including the running rails and a third rail supplying power to the train.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 said that after their engineers worked through the night, they found "extensive damage" to the track and trackside equipment.

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.

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

Service resumed on Oct. 1, with speed restrictions on westbound trains travelling on the repaired sections.

The restrictions will be lifted after Oct. 3.

Top image from PSP Facebook.