MRT Corp holds first emergency response drill for Putrajaya Line

PETALING JAYA: Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Putrajaya Line successfully conducted its maiden emergency response plan (ERP) drill on March 22.

The training session, code-named X-PERT, was held at Sri Damansara Sentral Station in collaboration with emergency response agencies composed of officers from the Fire and Rescue Department, police, Hospital Selayang and the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad).

The scenario was that one of the rail cars had hit a lamp post which fell on the track between Sri Damansara Sentral Station and Sri Damansara Barat, before colliding with another four-car train heading towards Kampung Batu.

Rapid Rail MRT Line chief operating officer Mohd Ramli Shafie said the training session was important for the staff and responders in case of any emergency during regular MRT operations.

"The training session was a very important experience for Rapid Rail staff, especially the operations team, to measure their level of efficiency in the event of an emergency.

"The programme went smoothly with the involvement of Rapid Rail's operations and engineering staff as well as support from the agencies concerned," he said.

MRT Corp Putrajaya Line project director Datuk Amiruddin Ma'aris said it was important to test the effectiveness of ERP training and the responsiveness of the agencies involved because "lives can be at stake."

"Such training will enable all parties to ensure that standard operating procedures are aligned, and improvements can be made as we learn from a crisis situation," he added.

He said Rapid Rail as the operator and MRT Corp as the project developer and asset owner would continue to make improvements to ensure the level of service is reliable and comparable to world-class metro services.

In January, MRT Corp announced that the Putrajaya Phase One line was still undergoing some rectification by the turnkey contractor in preparation for full operations.

Trial operations for Phase One have been ongoing since April 29 last year.