MRT DISRUPTION

MRT DISRUPTION

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(SOPs and protocols): **

11.

Dr Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Transport in the event of a disruption to the Mass Rapid Transit (a) whether there are Standard Operating Procedures and protocols to ensure business continuity in areas such as backup, alternative transport arrangements, crowd control and information dissemination etc; and (b) whether these plans have been made known to all staff concerned for rapid and expeditious implementation when the need arises.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: The two Rapid Transit Systems (RTS) operators, SMRT and SBST, have their respective Rail Incident Management Plans (RIMP) to handle RTS incidents and disruptions to train services. In the RIMP, the operators have set out relevant plans and procedures covering areas such as service recovery, provision of alternative transport, such as bus bridging, crowd control and public communications. In addition, the operators have developed Standing Operating Procedures (SOP) in anticipation of specific scenarios that may arise. All relevant staff receive training on the RIMP and SOP. The operators also carry out regular exercises on their own as well as jointly with relevant agencies such as the Singapore Civil Defence Force and LTA.

LTA also has its SOP for dealing with rail incidents. Regular training and exercises are conducted to ensure that LTA staff work seamlessly with the operators and other relevant authorities to ensure the prompt recovery of rail services.

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