DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What Not

[makapaaa]

[h=2]SBS Transit: ‘Internal laminate of metal cover debonded’[/h]

December 29th, 2013 |

Author: Editorial

Made-in-China DTL train (Photo: LTA)

Further to the news that the breakdown of Downtown Line (DTL) services on Friday (27 Dec) was caused by a little girl accidentally activating the detrainment door device (‘SBS Transit: Kids caused DTL disruption‘), SBS Transit said yesterday (28 Dec) preliminary findings showed that “the internal laminate of the metal cover which holds the detrainment door switch had debonded”. This caused the cover to be loosened.
It is a complete mystery what the term “debond” means as it does not appear to exist in the English language beyond the field of dentistry. A quick check on the Net reveals that “debond” means “separate a dental appliance such as an orthodontic band from the tooth to which it has been attached or bonded by a resin cement”.

It is also a mystery what “the internal laminate of the metal cover which holds the detrainment door switch” is. The authorities should tell us simply and plainly and not leave Singaporeans scratching their heads.
The much-mentioned “detrainment door device” is another unknown. What on earth is it?

Last but not least, what is “detrainment”? “Derailment” we know, but “detrainment”?

Are the authorities deliberately using highly techinical language so that the public cannot understand what is going on, thus minimising public scrutiny and criticism?

SBS Transit should clarify what it means and use simple and plain English in communications with the public.

“When the cover was moved, the detrainment switch was triggered,” SBS Transit said. This resulted in a tripping of the power supply to the line which is a safety feature of the system.
SBS Transit said it has since “enhanced the cover for a tighter fit” on all its Downtown Line trains.

It has also stationed staff at both ends of DTL trains to prevent a repeat of the incident. In other words, appointing 2 “jagas” (Malay for watchmen) to make sure kids do not activate the detrainment door device again.

In a separate statement, the Land Transport Authority, which oversaw DTL’s construction and the procurement of its trains, and which regulates train operators, said it would examine the incident and “identify appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence”.

The Sunday Times (29 Dec) identified the train manufacturer as Bombardier but it did not disclose that the trains were made in China.

 

[makapaaa]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

[h=2]SBS Transit: A little girl caused DTL disruption[/h]

December 29th, 2013 |

Author: Editorial

Made-in-China DTL trains (Photo: LTA)=


The breakdown of the new Downtown Line (DTL) on Friday (27 Dec) may be due to kids accidentally activating the detrainment door device, according to SBS Transit.

The rail operator came to this conclusion based on CCTV footage on board its train and noted that there were children playing around the detrainment door area.

In the CCTV footage, a little girl appears to have accidentally activated the detrainment door device which caused the emergency brakes to be automatically applied.

This resulted in a tripping of the power supply to the line which is a safety feature of the system.

If that is indeed what happened, the question arises why the detrainment door device can be easily activated by kids.

This is the second time DTL services have been disrupted since its official opening on 21 December 2013 by PM Lee Hsien Loong.

Train services were disrupted on the very first day of operation on 22 December.

In fact, DTL trains have enjoyed a longer testing period. The off-site testing period for DTL trains was 3 months longer than the trains for the North East and Circle Lines.

The DTL trains were manufactured in Changchun, Jilin province, China. The first train arrived in Singapore last October.

A total of 73 train sets consisting of 3 cars each were purchased at a cost of approximately S$570.7 million in a public tender in 2008.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has assured the public that the made-in-China trains meet rigorous safety standards.

Last month, Sim Wee Meng, LTA senior group director for rail, told the media, “The safety of the train is of highest priority to LTA. If there’s a component failure, it will not affect the safety of the train.”

“If a train was to stop in a tunnel as a result of a power-loss – the battery life will provide support to the emergency lighting and ventilation while the evacuation take place.”

There were concerns about the trains – the first in Singapore’s MRT system to be made-in-China – when it was revealed that LTA gave them a longer testing period (‘Made-in-China trains for DTL given longer testing period‘).
Some TRE readers commented:

tc: China made. Some how I feel worried.

satanically possessed: We’ll not only experience the usual disruption, we should also expect to experience a derailment soon.

Rotten PAPayas: Made in China, cheaper but is it safe? Would you use a Made-in-China condom?

LIONS: ALL I PRAY AND HOPE FOR IS THAT these PRC TRAINS are not ‘TAINTED’? can we be sure? I want to but i really cannot trust the PRC as yet…. GOD BLESS US ALL.

Naturally Concerned: Everything works perfect during testing until it is actually being used here. Major breakdown will happen again soon…
​

LTA and SBS Transit need to quickly find out why the detrainment door device in the DTL trains can be easily activated by kids. They also need to take steps to make sure it does not happen again by making the device kid-proof or by situating it higher up out of the reach of kids.

It remains to be seen if there will be more surprises for us from these made-in-China trains.

 

[makapaaa]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

<CITE class=fn>ZombieLeader:</CITE>
December 30, 2013 at 6:11 pm ZombieLeader(Quote)
Some useful background info on the China-Singapore Jilin project -http://english.jl.gov.cn/Topic/SpecialReport/ts2012_34523/201209/t20120911_1273324.html

One of the main things we have going for us in this joint collaboration is food production and security for Singapore. Perhaps in exchange for this, amongst other businesses for Temasek-linked companies, our dear LTA has also purchased trains and stuff from the Jilin government or Jilin-owned enterprises. According to Straits Times, these downtown line trains are made by Bombardier, which is a Canadian multinational, with its rail division based in Germany. It has 59 manufacturing plants all over the world. From Wikipedia : ” Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world’s largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. The division is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.[1] Bombardier Transportation produces a wide range of products including passenger rail vehicles, locomotives, bogies, propulsion, and controls, in addition to offering a number of services.”

And more from Wikipedia, regarding its plants : “Asia: India : Movia-car manufacturing and Electrical component manufacture in Savli, Vadodara.[4] China : Joint ventures with native companies Bombardier Sifang-Power (Qingdao) transportation Ltd., Changchun Bombardier railway vehicles Co. Ltd., Bombardier CPC propulsion systems Ltd..[4][19] Thailand : BTS Skytrain, Bangkok” . Changchun is in Jilin Province.

My question is : did LTA have absolute control over the train design and quality control? As customers, it has the right to demand the highest standards that fit our own city’s framework. Are we buying mass-produced infrastructural products just like buying things from Walmart? Did the LTA officials have the balls to deal with their Chinese counterparts?

Interestingly, again from Wikipedia, Bombardier was sued by Germany for defective trains in 2013 – ” In early 2013, Deutsche Bahn announced that it was suing Bombardier for 350 million euros due to some serious defects in trains used on the suburban S-Bahn rail network in Berlin. This is in addition of the 160 million euros it was asking for from Bombardier because of problems with more than 200 regional trains operation in southern Germany and problems with the brakes in regional and local trains in Munich.[17]” .

In fact, do our government officials have the balls at all to deal with the sneaky and wily China in all these joint ventures? Have we been taken for a ride?

 

[Leongsam]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

These are just minor teething problems which all countries face when something new is added to the mix. It will be sorted out in no time at all.

 

[sickpuppy]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

These are just minor teething problems which all countries face when something new is added to the mix. It will be sorted out in no time at all.

Funny I don't remember it happening when they started running the N/S line and the E/W line. During that time everybody was as blur as sotongs and yet they could make the system run smoothly now with so many years of experience and they boast about taking overseas projects but they could not solve these so call teething problems?

 

[red amoeba]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

I rem the older trains r manufactured by Japanese firms . Must be lowest quote mentality again

 

[Leongsam]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

Funny I don't remember it happening when they started running the N/S line and the E/W line. During that time everybody was as blur as sotongs and yet they could make the system run smoothly now with so many years of experience and they boast about taking overseas projects but they could not solve these so call teething problems?

In the old days, there were no on line forums and facebook and stupid blogs to make mountains out of molehills.

 

[AhMeng]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

the first trains were Uk design and Uk made...westinghouse....now all your tracks and trains are made in China..

 

[Leongsam]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

the first trains were Uk design and Uk made...westinghouse....now all your tracks and trains are made in China..

Ang Mohs are the best. Chinks are the worst.

 

[sickpuppy]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

the first trains were Uk design and Uk made...westinghouse....now all your tracks and trains are made in China..

U r wrong the 1st Gen trains were made in Japan ( Kawasaki ) the 2nd Gen were from a German company called Siemen the latest batch is by Kawasaki again. Westinghouse made the signal system for the N/S and E/W lines the circle line and others were made by Astorm a French comapny.

 

[AhMeng]

Re: DTL Falling Apart During 1st Week of Operation - Debondment, Detrainment and What

Ang Mohs are the best. Chinks are the worst.

Well said, I will Up your points