S'pore is doomed: Downtown Line MRT breakdowns enter 12th hour today

[micromachine]

More than 12 hours after a signalling fault which slowed trains down to a crawl on the new Downtown MRT line, technicians are still unable to find out what is wrong with the system, or how long they will need to fix it.

In a joint statement issued at 3.42pm on Thursday (March 1), operator SBS Transit and regulator the Land Transport Authority said Singapore's newest line was "affected by a signalling system fault at Bayfront station at 6.01am".

"As a result, trains approaching Bayfront station in both directions had to be driven manually and at a lower speed," it added.

By 7.30am, technicians had isolated the fault to a stretch from Promenade to Bayfront stations - a distance of one stop - in the direction of Expo.

The statement said there was still additional travel time of up to 15 minutes between the two stops over the affected stretch.

Because of the slowdown along this stretch, trains on the entire line are also bunching up, causing travelling speeds to drop across several stations.

The signalling system was supplied by German engineering giant Siemens.

During the morning rush hour, hundreds of commuters were affected.

When The Straits Times was at Kaki Bukit station at about 8.30am, the trains were packed and commuters were unable to board.

Ms Melissa Ngo, a 39-year-old accounts manager, said: "I was heading to Bendemeer and I went down to the platform but I didn't think I would be able to get on the train, so I left. Usually, the trains here are very fast, I think this is the first time I've encountered something like this."

 

[tanwahtiu]

Ghost of the past of evil BE is haunting Singapore.

 

[halsey02]

"Ms Melissa Ngo, a 39-year-old accounts manager, said: "I was heading to Bendemeer and I went down to the platform but I didn't think I would be able to get on the train, so I left. Usually, the trains here are very fast, I think this is the first time I've encountered something like this.""

Oh!, the first time, my, my, my...there is always a first time!..The first cut is the deepest, but never mind, Melissa, you will get used to the pain & enjoy, years of delays to come. Whom did you vote for?

 

[mojito]

Not breakdown, it slowed to a crawl. Just 12 hours. Sinkies these days so impatient.

 

[kkbutterfly]

mystery of circle line now mystery of downtown line.

 

[eatshitndie]

cheh. it's only a slow down. like that also want to kpkb.

 

[rotiprata]

cheh. it's only a slow down. like that also want to kpkb.

oredi passed 6.9 hr.... approaching the 69 soon

...

 

[red amoeba]

It’s not call DOWNtown line for no reason.

 

[bobby]

All these did not apparently helped.......

 

[eatshitndie]

All these did not apparently helped.......

did not help. "did not...helped" is incorrect.

 

[halsey02]

did not help. "did not...helped" is incorrect.

Help!....Help!..I need somebody, NOT JUST ANYBODY!...these didn't helped, the need the bomoh man with the two coconuts!

 

[rectmobile]

All these did not apparently helped.......

to get technology to do well, you need skills, not chants.

 

[borom]

Someone already said " Actually if I may be bold and say so, we have a first class transport system in Singapore ".
Since you are not his brother, you want to kena sue is it?
I always wonder why never ask these world class talents from NTU (ranked world no 5 in Engineering and Technology) and NUS (ranked 7th) to sort out the now almost weekly train breakdowns.
Why ask Japs (Tokyo U ranked 8th) or Taiwanese (National Taiwan ranked a lowly 19th) for help?

 

[Froggy]

I thought they say only chink's supplied equipment can be faulty? This is German.

Where is @tanwahtiu when we need you?

 

[eatshitndie]

I thought they say only chink's supplied equipment can be faulty? This is German.

Where is @tanwahtiu when we need you?

must be buggy signaling software coded by ah neh.

 

[chittychitty]

Lacking basic rail engineering expertise, Singapore’s state-owned transport operator SBS Transit and the government’s Land Transport Authority surrendered after spending more than two days trying to troubleshoot a signalling fault at the new Downtown Line:

“The root cause of Thursday’s full-day glitch on the Downtown line – Singapore’s newest MRT line – remains a mystery. The fault was traced to a synchronisation issue between two sets of signalling equipment. While the immediate cause of the signalling fault has been resolved, but we don’t know what caused this glitch in the equipment.”

On Thursday (Mar 1), the 5-month-old Downtown Line saw a paralysing service disruption which had trains travelling at 18km/h, and stopping more than 15 minutes at each station.

The Singapore government then passed the ball to signalling system supplier Siemens and said that the supplier will continue investigation:

“Siemens will continue its investigations into the root cause of the failed synchronisation of the signalling equipment to prevent a recurrence.”

More at
SBS Transit and LTA: Signalling fault is a mystery

 

[MarcusTan]

After the last public scolding of Thales, Siemens might have felt it was better to leave it as a “mystery”.

 

[bobby]

SMRT should have a contest open to public...let them guess the mystery fault and winner gets a prize.

 

[mojito]

cheh. it's only a slow down. like that also want to kpkb.

Yes! Say already, not breakdown, is mysterious slowdown. spooky!

 

[virus]

No mystery at all, most likely so cheap labor farked certified by the authority probably installed wrongly n no mf checked, it's a deep shitted cultural problem