2024 EWL breakdown could have been prevented with better coordination: SMRT CEO

Straits Times

2 days ago

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SMRT will work more closely with the Land Transport Authority and equipment manufacturers during fleet and systems renewals.
SINGAPORE – The
six-day disruption to train services on the East-West Line (EWL) in September 2024 could have been prevented with better coordination among all parties involved, said SMRT group chief executive Ngien Hoon Ping on July 31.
Setting out the rail operator's view of the breakdown – one of Singapore's worst so far, affecting 2.6 million passengers – Mr Ngien said the right lessons need to be learnt so that the same mistakes are not made again.
This means working more closely with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and equipment manufacturers during fleet and systems renewals.
'We need robust, forward-looking life-cycle planning, clear roles and responsibilities, and much tighter cross-agency collaboration moving forward,' said Mr Ngien during a press conference on the latest financial results for SMRT's train division.
On July 31, SMRT said the 2024 EWL breakdown has prompted 'deeper reflections' on the challenges of operating rail assets beyond their intended lifespan.
Noting that MRT trains in Singapore are designed to be operated for 30 years, the operator called for a structured framework to manage ageing trains, suggesting that LTA issue a formal certificate to rail operators if such trains are used beyond their intended lifespans.
Such certificates are already issued for new trains before they enter service.
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The process involves checks by the train manufacturer and an independent assessor to ensure all safety specifications are met.
The 2024 EWL disruption was traced to
a faulty part on a 37-year-old, first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train
, which caused extensive damage to 2.55km of track and trackside equipment as it was being withdrawn from service.
Investigations found that SMRT had extended the interval between overhauls for the KHI fleet without a detailed engineering and risk assessment.
However, LTA did not review the extension either, nor did it require SMRT to seek its approval.
SMRT, meanwhile, has cited repeated delays to the
delivery of new replacement trains that would have allowed it to retire the faulty train earlier.
The new trains were ordered by LTA in 2018, two years after the authority took over ownership of SMRT's rail assets under a revised financing model. Under this model, LTA makes decisions regarding upgrading and asset replacement.
The new trains were meant to arrive from 2021, in time for the KHI trains to be decommissioned. But they were delivered only from 2023 onwards.
This was one of the factors that LTA took into account when it lowered
the fine that SMRT would pay to the Public Transport Fund – to $2.4 million from $3 million – as a penalty for the September 2024 incident.
The decision came after SMRT made its final representations on the matter.
SMRT chairman Seah Moon Ming said on July 31 that the rail operator was faced with a 'tough choice' over whether to overhaul the old KHI trains, or wait for the new ones made by French company Alstom to arrive.
He said MRT trains are usually overhauled after clocking 500,000km, which is about every four years, and the planning for such these works takes place about 1½ years in advance, so that the operator can source for the necessary parts.
The KHI trains were last overhauled in 2018.
After repeated delays to the new trains, SMRT decided to overhaul the KHI fleet again in 2022, Mr Seah said. But SMRT had trouble procuring spare parts due to global supply chain disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hence, it could start on modular overhaul works only in December 2023 using the limited parts available.
By September 2024, 18 of out of 66 first-generation KHI trains were overhauled. But the faulty train that caused the major disruption that month was not among them.
Mr Ngien, who was LTA chief executive from 2016 to 2020, said more proactive and deliberate decisions about the KHI overhaul could have been made earlier if there was better coordination between LTA, the asset owner and SMRT.
He also revealed that the new Alstom trains had issues with overheating batteries when they were first delivered in 2023.
'Frankly, it's not reasonable to expect the operator to have a contingency plan to continue to overhaul, just in case, in 2021, the trains (were not delivered). Even so, there must be certain discussions and agreement as to the funding,' Mr Ngien added, noting that SMRT paid for the additional overhauls to the KHI fleet.
In its statement on July 31, SMRT lauded the announcement in March that up to $1 billion in additional government funds will be invested over the next five years to improve the management of rail assets here.
'This is a positive step in addressing the challenges Singapore faces in managing train fleet transitions,' it said.
SMRT said it also plans to deepen direct engagement with equipment manufacturers, pointing to its partnership with Alstom to accelerate the testing of the new North-South and East-West line (NSEWL) trains being delivered.
'This proactive approach allows potential reliability and interoperability issues to be resolved ahead of full deployment. We remain on track to retire all first-generation KHI trains by end-September 2025,' the operator added.
There are 13 KHI trains still operating today, and they are used only during weekday peak hours. Meanwhile, 63 new Alstom trains have entered service on the NSEWL so far, out of the 106 trains on order.