SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore has initiated a comprehensive investigation into the disruption of services on the East-West Line that occurred between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations from 25 to 30 September 2024.

In a statement released on Wednesday (2 October), the LTA indicated that the investigation will explore multiple aspects to prevent future occurrences of such significant service interruptions.

The investigation is expected to be completed within a few months, and the findings will be made public.

“First, we will investigate the root cause of the axle box failure. LTA’s investigations will include a forensic study into the nature of the axle box failure, and identify any other potential contributory factors that led to the incident,” said LTA.

The investigation will also review the procedures related to fault detection and incident handling, assessing whether appropriate actions were taken.

Additionally, the LTA will evaluate the service recovery and disruption mitigation efforts to “ascertain the timeliness and comprehensiveness of the responses taken” by train operator SMRT.

The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) will conduct an independent safety investigation into the disruption, as confirmed by the Ministry of Transport.

To support its inquiries, the LTA will appoint an Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) to review the findings and provide advice on technical matters.

The panel will be chaired by Mr Malcolm Dobell, who brings over 45 years of railway expertise and previously served as the Head of Train Systems for London Underground.

Other panel members include Dr Tony Lee Kar Yun, Operations and Innovation Director of Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation;

Mr. Chen Chao, Deputy General Manager of the Vehicle Branch at Shanghai Shentong Metro Group;

Mr Chew Tai Chong, a veteran in railway system engineering;

Professor Gan Hiong Yap from the Singapore Institute of Technology;

and Professor Manoj Gupta, an expert in material science at the National University of Singapore.

The LTA noted that these experts possess extensive knowledge in rail operations and maintenance, railway engineering, rail system engineering, train design, and material science.

COI convened for 2011 major North-South Line breakdown

This current investigation marks a departure from the response to a previous major incident in 2011, when a Committee of Inquiry (COI) was convened after two significant breakdowns on the North-South Line.

That COI scrutinised SMRT’s operations after breakdowns on 15 and 17 December 2011, which also caused widespread commuter inconvenience.

On 1 October, the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) issued a public statement calling for another Committee of Inquiry into the recent disruptions.

The party urged Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat to convene a COI to ensure that the incident is fully examined, citing the considerable inconvenience caused to commuters.

In its statement, the PSP highlighted the need for a review of the current maintenance and inspection regimes to prevent such disruptions in the future.

The 2011’s COI convened by the Ministry of Transport and directed by then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was tasked with identifying the causes and recommending measures to prevent future occurrences.

The first disruption, on 15 December 2011, occurred during evening peak hours, when four trains lost traction power and stalled between City Hall and Braddell stations.

This breakdown affected approximately 127,000 commuters, with the disruption lasting about five hours.

Several passengers were forced to evacuate onto the tracks, and the inadequate bus bridging services compounded commuter frustrations.

Fortunately, there were no major injuries, though two passengers fainted due to the lack of ventilation and lighting in one of the trains.

The second incident occurred on 17 December 2011, affecting about 94,000 commuters.

This disruption lasted around seven hours, but was relatively better managed due to lessons learned from the earlier breakdown.

The immediate cause of both disruptions was found to be the sagging of the third rail, which powers the trains.

The sagging occurred due to the failure of multiple support “claws,” leading to damage to the trains’ Current Collector Device (CCD) shoes, which draw power from the third rail.

In March 2012, LTA also submitted its own investigation report regarding the December 2011 breakdowns to the COI.

The COI’s report, issued on 3 July 2012, concluded that the incidents were preventable and attributed them to inadequate maintenance and oversight.

It recommended improvements in maintenance practices, better detection of defects, and enhancements in the emergency management framework to ensure quicker response times during future disruptions.

The 2011 breakdown ultimately led to the resignation of SMRT’s then-CEO, Saw Phaik Hwa, who also stepped down as a director of SMRT in 2012.