New EWL signalling system to undergo full-day tests from Sunday; daily tests from late May

SINGAPORE — For five Sundays from this weekend (April 29), the new signalling system on the East-West Line (EWL) will be put through the paces during service hours for the first time.

The Sunday trials will wrap up on May 27, and daily trials will commence from late May, with the new communications-based train control (CBTC) system on track for its rollout in June, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT announced on Tuesday (April 24).

The new signalling system will allow trains to run at closer intervals. At peak hours, passengers can expect to wait up to 100 seconds, instead of 120 seconds under the old system. This is expected to ease congestion and make for swifter commutes.

With services along the entire EWL running on the new system on the coming Sundays, services will also resume between Joo Koon and Gul Circle on the Tuas West Extension. Shuttle buses plying between the two stations will not run on those days.

The authorities halted services between the two stations — separating the four-station Tuas West Extension from Gul Circle to Tuas Link from the rest of the EWL — after two trains collided at Joo Koon MRT Station last November, injuring nearly 40 people.

The collision was traced to several "failure conditions" — including a software logic issue with the signalling system, which was not configured to cater for the conditions that contributed to the incident.

Since December, the authorities have curtailed operation hours on the EWL in an effort to speed up work to get the new system going by June, instead of by year's end as originally planned.

While the coming Sunday trials will not affect the EWL's operating schedule, the LTA and SMRT warned that commuters may occasionally encounter train and platform doors failing to open or shut promptly, trains holding at stations longer than usual, or halting momentarily between train stops. The LTA, SMRT and signalling system provider Thales will despatch more crew to cut response times if issues arise and to help commuters.

Trials of the new signalling system on the EWL began during non-service hours in February.

Mr Chua Chong Kheng, the LTA's deputy chief executive for infrastructure and development, said: "Only after we were satisfied with its performance did we decide to commence trials during service hours."

Such tests allow issues which may surface only when the system runs under "real-world operational loads" to be identified and resolved quickly, said Mr Chua.

Mr Chung Swee Hiang, SMRT Trains' chief engineer for signalling and communications maintenance, asked for commuters' patience and understanding. "Our engineering team will work closely with the operations team to quickly rectify any new faults which we may not have encountered during off-service trials, and make adjustments according to operational needs," he said.

The LTA and SMRT announced the new testing regime during a visit by Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan to a new CBTC signalling simulation facility at the Bishan Depot on Tuesday.

The simulation facility — announced in December after the LTA wrapped up its investigations into the Joo Koon train collision — complements the continuing trials by simulating the new system under various scenarios. These include how the system reacts to temporary speed restrictions.

The facility is the first of its kind outside Paris or Toronto, where Thales is based.