SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Train services along the East-West Line will resume fully on Oct 1 from the start of passenger service hours, six days after rail services between Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT stations were crippled because of severe track damage.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT said on the evening of Sept 30 that for safety reasons, a temporary speed limit of 40kmh – down from the usual 60kmh to 80kmh – will be imposed on westbound trains travelling on the repaired sections of the tracks.
The speed restriction will be in place until Oct 3, and is part of the standard process after rail replacements, they added.
“We advise commuters who are travelling to the west on the East-West Line to plan for an additional five minutes of travel time,” said LTA and SMRT.
They said their engineers and technicians had late on Sept 29 replaced 10 rail segments on which 12 new cracks were discovered.
Comprehensive testing of the track and trackside equipment was done for passenger safety.
These tests comprised functional and safety tests on the track, power supply and train signalling systems. The tracks were also subjected to load tests and ultrasound checks, followed by endurance runs using passenger trains loaded with sandbags to simulate a packed train.
The disruption has affected about 2.1 million passengers so far.
On the morning of Sept 30, LTA said that all affected rail segments, where 46 rail fractures such as cracks or chips were found – have been replaced. These spanned 2.55km of tracks. The third rail – which supplies power to trains – has also been restored.
SMRT also said its engineers had completed ultrasonic testing of welds, which refers to the inspection of welding by measuring the reflection of high-frequency sound waves.
SMRT had earlier aimed to restart services on Sept 30, but stress tests on Sept 28 found 12 cracks that were previously not visible on unreplaced segments of rail.
This meant that engineers had to replace another 10 segments of rail along the westbound track from Clementi to Ulu Pandan Depot, delaying the resumption of train services till Oct 1.
The faulty first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries train, which has been in service for more than 35 years, was travelling eastwards when it encountered a fault near Clementi station at about 9am on Sept 25.
It was later turned around near Queenstown station onto the westbound track, bound for Ulu Pandan Depot.
As it was being withdrawn, a defective component on the train’s undercarriage – known as an axle box – dropped onto the tracks near Dover station, and this caused the wheels of the undercarriage to run off the rail.
This wrought extensive damage to the tracks and trackside equipment as the train was being taken to the depot.
The damage triggered a power trip that stalled other trains and crippled services. The train also damaged three point machines, stretches of the third rail, as well as power cables and rail fasteners. - The Straits Times/ANN
