Recent Breakdowns on Bukit Panjang LRT Line

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the reasons for the series of recent breakdowns at Bukit Panjang LRT; (b) what more can LTA and the LRT operator do to improve reliability and comfort for commuters; and (c) whether the Bukit Panjang LRT system has served the residents well since it commenced operations.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: The BPLRT commenced operations in 1999. Since then, it has provided Bukit Panjang residents with greater feeder accessibility to the MRT network and the bus interchanges at Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang. Besides the BPLRT, the operator SMRT has also implemented a parallel bus service to BPLRT since October 2011. However, I understand that the daily utilisation of this service is low, suggesting that residents generally still prefer the LRT services.

There were three service disruptions on the BPLRT that lasted more than 10 minutes in April 2012. These disruptions resulted from signalling and train faults. On 5 April, a signalling fault resulted in a 14-minute delay. On 15 April, a LRT vehicle stalled between Phoenix and Teck Whye stations, resulting in a 19-minute delay. The longest delay occurred on 22 April, when a vehicle also stalled between Bukit Panjang and Senja stations. Eleven passengers were detrained from the vehicle, and the service disruption lasted two and a half hours. These faults have since been rectified.

For the disruption lasting two and a half hours, efforts were made to reduce the inconvenience caused to commuters. Although the outer loop of the LRT service – or Service A – was affected, the inner loop of the LRT service – or Service B – continued to operate normally, except for a nine-minute period where it was halted to enable recovery works. In addition, vehicles were diverted from Service A onto Service B to beef up capacity and reduce waiting times.

Service disruptions bring about significant inconvenience to commuters and I assure the Member that we take a serious view on them. Starting from last year, technical experts from LTA have been working with SMRT to identify key areas to improve its service quality and reduce the number of incidents. SMRT itself has also committed to making quantifiable technical improvements on the BPLRT going forward. Specifically, they have been working on measures to reduce the occurrence of signalling, traction power and train faults, which are the common faults in the BPLRT.

Some of the measures have already been implemented. For example, SMRT has set up an Integrated Electronic Workshop (IEW) to enhance its in-house capability to repair and test their electronic cards. SMRT is also in the process of adding a remote reset feature to recover some vehicle faults without requiring the physical presence of staff. Fourteen out of the 19 BPLRT vehicles have already been modified with this feature to date.

LTA and the operator have adopted a pro-active approach to reduce the instances of BPLRT service disruptions and improve the reliability of the system. I seek Members' patience while they work through the matter.

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