MRT station platform door glitch not an open-and-shut case
Land Transport Authority investigating Downtown Line disruption
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is investigating Wednesday's disruption on the Downtown Line, even as operator SBS Transit struggles to fix the station platform doors which affected Singapore's newest MRT line for seven hours.
As of yesterday, one of the 12 malfunctioning doors remained inoperable and was cordoned off.
An SBS Transit employee was seen in front of the door, signalling to train passengers to use the other doors.
An LTA spokesman said the authority was investigating the incident, and that the fault was "isolated to two doors on the platform".
On Wednesday, all 12 doors on the southbound side of the station would not open automatically when the trains pulled in, and had to be operated manually.
The problem, which led to slower train services, was found at 5.45am. More than a day later, one door remained disabled.
The disruption is estimated to have affected at least 10,000 commuters, including tertiary students on their way to examinations.
The National University of Singapore said three students were late for their papers, but were given the full duration of the exams.
Wednesday's malfunctioning doors, believed to have been caused by a short circuit, were the third door-related fault on the Downtown Line in the past seven months.
On Oct 4 last year, a dislodged platform door at the line's Sixth Avenue station disrupted service for two hours. The fault was traced to a loose bolt.
On Feb 2 this year, a door at Bugis station was cordoned off because of cracks on the glass.
The doors on the Downtown Line were supplied by Faiveley Transport of France, which refused to comment. The LTA was unable to say yesterday if Faiveley Transport had supplied doors to other lines.
The company has a venture with SMRT Corp subsidiary Singapore Rail Engineering to market and supply maintenance, repair and overhaul services for rolling stock components in South-east Asia.
SBS Transit was unable to comment on the remaining door which could not be fixed.
The Straits Times understands that the operator will try to locate and rectify the flaw during engineering hours this morning.
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