Faulty water pumps uncovered at two other MRT tunnel portals

SINGAPORE — Follow-up checks in the aftermath of last month’s tunnel flooding incident at Bishan MRT station turned up faulty anti-flooding pumps at two of the four other locations with these systems, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament on Tuesday (Nov 7).

Two out of eight pumps at Kembangan and three out of four pumps at Lavender were not working, and have since been fixed or replaced. The systems at Redhill and Changi, the remaining tunnel portals, passed checks. Float switches that activate these pumps when water levels rise to a certain height have also been replaced “as a precaution”, said Mr Khaw.

Rail operator SMRT is investigating the teams in charge of maintaining these pumps, Mr Khaw added, as he revealed the work fell under the same Building and Facilities maintenance group, where a team has been found to have doctored maintenance records of the anti-flooding system at Bishan. The Vice-President heading this division, Mr Ng Tek Poo, was transferred out and suspended from duty by SMRT following the discovery of the faked maintenance records, along with six other managerial staff.

Addressing the House in a ministerial statement, Mr Khaw did not give details on when the other anti-flooding systems were last maintained but said that “SMRT will take swift and stern action to root out any improper practices and prevent a recurrence of this incident”.

On Mr Siu Yow Wee, the new man helming the building and facilities maintenance group, Mr Khaw described the mechanical engineer by training as “deeply committed and responsible”.

“I expect him to enforce greater discipline and process controls within his group,” he added.

Outside of the corrective measures, Mr Khaw said SMRT has sought help from experts from Taipei Metro who will come next month to conduct a thorough and independent review of its operations, flush out any gaps and recommend improvements in system management, engineering and maintenance.

Taipei’s much vaunted metro system has been held up previously by Mr Khaw as a beacon for train operators here. He has urged operators to emulate the culture of strong ownership across all levels of the organisation, the maintenance and replacement regime, as well as quick response when problems arise. Last year, Taipei Metro achieved 1 million train kilometres between delays exceeding five minutes, more than double the 425,000 figure here.

Following the flooding in a 100m stretch of the tunnel between Braddell and Bishan MRT stations on Oct 7, where waters reached as high as 1m, SMRT replaced all float switches at the stormwater sump pit there, and installed extra parallel float switches. All the pumps there were also replaced with heavier-duty ones capable of handling water that carry more sediments.

The accumulated sludge, slit and debris in the pit are in the midst of being removed, while a new radar-based sensor system has been installed to monitor water levels in the pit. To facilitate access to pump operations, the control panel to pumps has been relocated away from the tracks.

SMRT has also ramped up the frequency of maintenance for flood protection systems from quarterly to monthly. Flood recovery plans are being tightened, and there are plans to improve coordination with the Singapore Civil Defence Force and national water agency PUB through regular exercises.

The operator will also stock up on additional emergency equipment such as portable pumps to supplement emergency response capabilities.

To cultivate a stronger culture of accountability, SMRT is strengthening internal processes and staff support, with staff rotations and renewal, delayering of reporting chains for closer management oversight and enhancing the supervision of night works on the cards. The bonuses and incentives of senior supervisors will be matched to the performance of their teams and audit results.