ICA to raise issue of train carriage safeguards with KTM after woman falls on track at Woodlands Checkpoint
Railway operator KTM has been urged to put in safeguards after travellers pried open the doors of a moving train, resulting in a woman falling on the tracks at Woodlands Train Checkpoint.
Responding to media queries, an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) spokesman said the woman tripped and fell into the gap between the platform and train at about 5.35am on Wednesday, and sustained injuries to the knee and left elbow.
An ICA officer, whose was on duty conducting checks on the train, saw what happened and pulled her up from the train tracks, with the help of several travellers.
ICA said the train design made it possible for passengers to open the doors of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) train from inside the carriage and disembark at the platform before the train came to a stop.
She said: “ICA will be bringing this matter up to the train operator so that the necessary safeguards could be put in place. We would like to remind travellers to only disembark from the train after it comes to a complete stop, for their own safety. “
The injured traveller was taken to the hospital in a conscious state.
Fellow traveller Erene Hew, who put up a Facebook post about the incident, said the woman was among those who were rushing to get through the checkpoint, ahead of other people.
In her post, which was written in Mandarin, she said it was fortunate that the train was moving slowly or things could have been worse.
In June, the clearance time at the Woodlands Train Checkpoint for passengers from each train was cut by half to 15 minutes with the introduction of 10 automated immigration kiosks.
More than 30 train trips, and nearly 10,000 passengers are cleared at the checkpoint daily, during peak travel periods.
The Straits Times has contacted KTMB for comment.
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