Significant progress in repair of damaged MRT rail tracks
Significant progress has been made in the repair of rail tracks between Clementi and Dover stations, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a Facebook post on Sept 28.
Aiming to fully restore train services on Sept 30, the authority said its progress includes the delivery of heavy rail to the location of the portions that had cracked.
Three track point machines and associated trackside equipment have been successfully recovered and have undergone functionality testing, said rail operator SMRT in a separate Facebook update on Sept 28 night.
It added that power rails have been replaced, and restoration work was fully completed.
On Sept 25, a faulty train on the East-West Line (EWL) had damaged tracks and trackside equipment while on its way back to the Ulu Pandan depot. Train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations have been disrupted since then.
“Our teams have been working through the night and morning, and have made significant progress, including the completion of heavy rail delivery work,” said LTA in its Sept 28 Facebook post.
The track damage includes 34 rail breaks – which are cracks or chips – along a 1.6km stretch of the westbound track between Dover and Clementi stations. They need to be removed and replaced with new rail sections to allow safe train operations.
As part of repair works, engineers had to use mechanical jigs to move new rail sections – each weighing more than a tonne – to the location of replacement instead of using engineering vehicles, since the rails are broken.
Adding that it hopes for the weather to “remain favourable”, LTA said on Sept 28 that it will continue replacing the cracked rails along the affected stretch and repair the damaged track equipment.
This includes stretches of the third rail, which supplies power to trains, with exposed power cables along the eastbound track.
The eastbound track was also damaged as the faulty train had to stop there to be pulled onto the track to Ulu Pandan depot between Clementi and Jurong East stations, although the faulty axle box had dropped earlier on the westbound track near Dover station.
SMRT said it was grateful for the favourable weather on Sept 28 as it allowed for “significant progress” to be made in replacing the cracked rails and that recovery efforts will continue late into the night.
SMRT and LTA had successfully recovered three point machines and other trackside equipment on Sept 27.
The disruption affected about 358,000 passengers on Sept 25, an estimated 516,000 on Sept 26, some 500,000 on Sept 27, and an estimated 374,000 on Sept 28.
Shuttle trains are operating at 10-minute intervals between Boon Lay and Jurong East stations, and between Queenstown and Buona Vista stations.
The authority also directed passengers to continue taking the available transport alternatives, including shuttle train services, as well as free bridging bus services between Jurong East and Buona Vista, and regular bus services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations.
Once repairs are finalised, SMRT will conduct for the whole day on Sept 29 comprehensive functional and safety tests – including checks on the tracks, power supply and train signalling – in addition to running trains at different speeds to ensure smooth operations.
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