SMRT directed to implement safety measures after accident

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Manpower (MOM), in consultation with the Land Transport Authority (LTA), has directed public transport operator SMRT to put in place several interim safety measures for carrying out work on railway tracks, following an accident which killed two trainees last Tuesday. 

Among the measures which SMRT has to abide by from Thursday (March 31): No trains should be on automatic mode for sections of the track where staff are required on the adjacent track walkway; the trains must be manually operated and at low speeds. No trains are allowed to approach sections of the track where works such as repairs are taking place before any personnel are allowed to proceed to those areas. Watchmen must be deployed to alert personnel on the tracks of oncoming trains from both directions of the track.

In response to the joint statement issued by MOM and LTA on Wednesday , SMRT said it has strengthened procedures and implemented the measures spelled out by the authorities immediately after the accident.

Its internal investigations into the cause of the accident will be completed by next week, and the report will be handed to the police and MOM for their investigations, the operator added. 

The findings will first be reviewed by a panel made up of independent safety experts and members of the SMRT Board Risk Committee, SMRT said. 

SMRT also said it is setting up a Board Safety Review Committee to look into all safety-related matters in SMRT Trains. The committee will be chaired by an SMRT Board member and include independent members. It will review all frameworks, structures, processes and procedures, and seek assurance that safety is given the highest attention and priority in SMRT Trains’ operations and maintenance services.

SMRT said it is still in close touch with the families of the two trainees, Nasrulhudin Najumudin and Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, who were killed by an oncoming train while part of a team of 15 doing maintenance work. The operator is also providing care and counselling to other staff affected by the accident, it said.

In an update the day after the accident, SMRT had said a safety procedure to bring oncoming trains to a halt when maintenance staff are crossing the trackway did not take place. Its records did not show that the team coordinated with the signal unit at the train station for oncoming trains to be brought to a stop and to ensure no train entered the affected sector. 

In their instructions, the MOM and LTA stressed the need for “robust authentication procedures between the personnel deployed on the tracks and the Operations Control Centre” to verify that the affected track has been isolated. “Measures for isolation must be continuously in place until staff have left the work area and trackside,” the authorities added.

The accident marked the first fatalities involving SMRT staff along the East-West and North-South rail lines.

Writing on Facebook, National Transport Workers’ Union executive secretary Melvin Yong welcomed the interim measures. “Many train workers whom I have met recently expressed that they were saddened by the unfortunate accident and were naturally concerned with safety protocols,” said Mr Yong, who is also a Member of Parliament. “These safety instructions would help give our train workers a greater sense of confidence and assurance as they continue to perform their duties to keep our train system running smoothly every day.”

SMRT has to ensure the following when maintenance works are carried out during train service hours:

a) No trains should run in automatic mode for the sections of the track where personnel are required on the adjacent track walkway. Trains on such sections of the track should be operated manually, and at low speeds;

b) The section of the track where all works are taking place including maintenance or repair, should be isolated (i.e. no trains are allowed to approach) to provide a safe zone before any personnel is allowed to proceed to that area;

c) There should be robust authentication procedures between the personnel deployed on the tracks and the Operations Control Centre (OCC) to verify the track isolation;

d) Measures for isolation must be continuously in place until staff have left the work area and trackside; and 

e) Watchmen should be deployed to alert personnel on the tracks of oncoming trains from both directions of the track.