Reason Train Car at Bukit Panjang LRT Failed to Stop at Three Stations on 28 July 2016

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether LTA has investigated the reasons why a train car at Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) failed to stop for three stations on 28 July 2016; and (b) in light of reports of jerking actions on some train cars by commuters, whether the BPLRT poses any safety issues for commuters.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Investigations are on-going. But preliminarily, reports from SMRT point to the fact that the Train Stop Antenna system was faulty. The Train Stop Antenna system controls the start and stop of the LRT train at each station. As the system was faulty, the train did not detect that it was arriving at the three stations from Jelapang to Bukit Panjang, and hence did not stop.

The safety of the passengers was not compromised during the incident. The BPLRT is protected by the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System. This ensures that trains do not exceed the maximum operating speed of 55km/hr, and that a minimum safe distance is kept between any two trains at all times. The ATP operates independently of the Train Stop Antenna system. The ATP system was functioning properly, and halted the train before Phoenix station, as it had detected another train ahead. As the ATP system is safety-critical, it has built-in redundancy. If one ATP Antenna malfunctions, the back-up will immediately take over. LTA and SMRT are working with the manufacturer, Bombardier, on the possibility of incorporating a similar redundancy into the Train Stop Antenna system.