Water leakage led to DTL disruption on May 3: SBS Transit

SINGAPORE  —  Water leakage was behind the platform screen door glitch earlier this month, which caused the Downtown Line (DTL) to hit a record seven-hour snarl, SBS Transit said on Thursday (May 18) as it completed its probe into the incident. 

Investigations showed that the leakage had damaged the electrical components of one of the platform screen doors at the Botanic Gardens MRT Station on May 3.

The leakage was caused by natural groundwater seeping in from the space above the affected platform screen door. “The seepage has since been grouted by injecting a polyurethane chemical to fill the void, and act as a water stop,” SBS Transit said.

The platform screen doors at the Botanic Gardens station were checked in September last year as part of routine maintenance.

“None were found to be faulty and no water seepage was observed then,” said SBS Transit, which operates the DTL and North-East Line (NEL).

Following the incident, all platform screen doors, as well as the electrical wiring and components, at train stations along the DTL and NEL, have been inspected.

“Minor water seepage was found at two (platform screen doors) at the King Albert Park station. However, their electrical components were not affected and we have since grouted the seepage,” said SBS Transit. 

It is currently working with the Land Transport Authority on the water seepage issue.

The May 3 disruption saw city-bound trains on the DTL hit a snarl between 5.45am and about 1pm, the longest trip-up to date to affect the four-year-old rail network.

Not only did stops at each station last longer, but trains skipped the Botanic Gardens station because of what SBS Transit had described then as a “signalling-related fault”, which resulted in platform doors failing to open automatically.

Commuters were advised to transfer at Tan Kah Kee and Stevens stations to continue their trips.

The incident marked the second time in seven months that the DTL was disrupted for hours because of a problem with the platform doors. Last October, a bolt came loose and caused a platform door to become dislodged at Sixth Avenue station.

SBS Transit on Thursday also apologised to all affected commuters for the inconvenience caused by the May 3 incident.