A day after the the resumption of train services on the MRT’s East-West Line following a six-day disruption, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that it has commenced regulatory investigations into the disruption. 

“The severe disruption to East-West Line service affected a large group of commuters over six days.

“It also caused substantial damage to rail infrastructure which required extensive repairs”, said the LTA in a media statement on Wednesday (Oct 2). 

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat also said in a Facebook post today that the investigations will ascertain what happened and identify areas for improvement. 

The Ministry of Transport’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) will also be carrying out an independent safety investigation. 

TSIB is the air, marine and rail accidents and investigation authority in Singapore. 

In March 2024, the bureau was involved in the investigations of merchant vessel The Dali, which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Investigations to take months

The LTA’s probe will look into a number of areas, including finding out the root cause of the axle box failure; examining the fault detection and incident handling procedures; and reviewing the service recovery and disruption mitigation efforts. 

A six-man Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) has also been appointed to review the subsequent findings and advise on technical matters. 

The panel is made up of persons with railway operations and maintenance, engineering, and material science expertise, including Malcolm Dobell, former head of Train Systems for London Underground.

According to the LTA, investigations are expected to take a few months.

The findings will be released to the public.

What happened

Train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations were suspended on Sept 25, after a component of a faulty train's wheel structure came off near Dover MRT station while on its way to the depot.

This caused some wheels on the third carriage to drop out of position, which led to 46 rail cracks along a 2.55km stretch between Dover station and the Ulu Pandan depot crossover. 

It also led to a power trip, disrupting train services from Boon Lay to Queenstown stations.

The six-day disruption which ended on Tuesday (Oct 1) affected at least 2.1 million passengers according to a Straits Times report. 

ALSO READ: I don't have to take bus early in the morning, say some commuters as EWL MRT services resume after 6-day disruption

editor@asiaone.com