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MRT disruptions COI: It was train driver's first day
SINGAPORE - At the third day of the public inquiry into December's train disruptions, SMRT train driver Mr Muhammad Yassin Yazid Wednesday revealed that it was his first day on the job on December 15.
Prior to that, Mr Yassin, who was the first to notice anything was amiss that day, had shadowed his mentor for two weeks.
His 90-minute testimony revealed that the communications system was faulty and that there was a lack of indicators to tell if the train's 'collector shoes' were working.
Collector shoes are train equipment that draw power for the train from its third rail, reported The Straits Times.
The 24-year-old driver said he first saw sparks on the right side of the North-South train heading towards Dhoby Ghaut station at about 6.40pm.
He did not report this to the Operations Control Centre (OCC) as he believed this was 'normal'. Soon after, he saw the sparks again coupled with 'knocking' sounds and a burning smell, reported the Straits Times.
When system light indicating that there were faults with the train went off, Mr Yassin tried to contact the OCC. He used both the train radio communications set and the handheld radio but was unsuccessful. <
He then used his own mobile phone to make the call.
A second train driver who testified yesterday said he too had to use his mobile phone to contact the OCC after he noticed numerous fault lights come on in his train, which had been losing speed.
Mr Zainal Rahmat, who has more than 20 years of experience, said that his train, that had stalled near the Toa Payoh station on December 15, had suffered a power fault.
The 50-year-old added that he could not see all the way to the end of the train despite the emergency lighting kicking in.
Regarding the inadequacies surface, Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye gave three suggestions to help if similar situations are encountered in future:
A panel to indicate when the train's current collector shoes are damaged.
More flashlights and portable lights onboard the train. (Currently, there is one flashlight onboard a six-carriage train.)
Installing a closed-circuit television on trains to help drivers see what is happening in train carriages further down from the driver's cabin.
Mr Zainal also added in his testimony that he was surprised that despite his train being in emergency mode, he was requested to use his train to 'rescue' another stalled train. His train had stalled while it was on the way and ended up having to be 'rescued' too.
When asked how they communicated to passengers during the disruptions, Mr Muhammad admitted that he had played a pre-recorded message as he was nervous.
He later made a short announcement in English to passengers.
Mr Zainal said he was could not make any announcements as the public announcement system on his train was not working.
Both drivers' job training and knowledge were tested in yesterday's inquiry. They were asked to reveal what they were taught to do in different train failure scenarios.
[email protected]
SINGAPORE - At the third day of the public inquiry into December's train disruptions, SMRT train driver Mr Muhammad Yassin Yazid Wednesday revealed that it was his first day on the job on December 15.
Prior to that, Mr Yassin, who was the first to notice anything was amiss that day, had shadowed his mentor for two weeks.
His 90-minute testimony revealed that the communications system was faulty and that there was a lack of indicators to tell if the train's 'collector shoes' were working.
Collector shoes are train equipment that draw power for the train from its third rail, reported The Straits Times.
The 24-year-old driver said he first saw sparks on the right side of the North-South train heading towards Dhoby Ghaut station at about 6.40pm.
He did not report this to the Operations Control Centre (OCC) as he believed this was 'normal'. Soon after, he saw the sparks again coupled with 'knocking' sounds and a burning smell, reported the Straits Times.
When system light indicating that there were faults with the train went off, Mr Yassin tried to contact the OCC. He used both the train radio communications set and the handheld radio but was unsuccessful. <
He then used his own mobile phone to make the call.
A second train driver who testified yesterday said he too had to use his mobile phone to contact the OCC after he noticed numerous fault lights come on in his train, which had been losing speed.
Mr Zainal Rahmat, who has more than 20 years of experience, said that his train, that had stalled near the Toa Payoh station on December 15, had suffered a power fault.
The 50-year-old added that he could not see all the way to the end of the train despite the emergency lighting kicking in.
Regarding the inadequacies surface, Chief District Judge Tan Siong Thye gave three suggestions to help if similar situations are encountered in future:
A panel to indicate when the train's current collector shoes are damaged.
More flashlights and portable lights onboard the train. (Currently, there is one flashlight onboard a six-carriage train.)
Installing a closed-circuit television on trains to help drivers see what is happening in train carriages further down from the driver's cabin.
Mr Zainal also added in his testimony that he was surprised that despite his train being in emergency mode, he was requested to use his train to 'rescue' another stalled train. His train had stalled while it was on the way and ended up having to be 'rescued' too.
When asked how they communicated to passengers during the disruptions, Mr Muhammad admitted that he had played a pre-recorded message as he was nervous.
He later made a short announcement in English to passengers.
Mr Zainal said he was could not make any announcements as the public announcement system on his train was not working.
Both drivers' job training and knowledge were tested in yesterday's inquiry. They were asked to reveal what they were taught to do in different train failure scenarios.
[email protected]
