•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

Singapore. Train commuters will face longer waiting times during peak hours as SMRT continues to grapple with the underlying causes of the two major breakdowns last week.

For a start, there will be fewer trains running on the North-South and East-West lines as 13 damaged trains out of the fleet of 123 undergo repair.

Trains will also be made to slow down in certain areas downtown between Outram and Somerset as a precaution against vibrations that could have caused some rail brackets to be dislodged.

Both moves will affect the intervals at which the trains run.

Operator SMRT said that the frequency of trains during the morning and evening peak periods will stretch from the current two to five minutes to slightly longer. SMRT could not pin down the exact timing yet.

The measures are being adopted after an overnight exercise to check the trains and tracks to get to the bottom of the massive disruptions last Thursday and Saturday that left thousands stranded.

At a press conference on Sunday, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew explained the need to reduce train speeds for now: "Obviously, it does cause some inconvenience, journey time is longer and during the peak, you wait a little bit longer.

"But overall, we feel that it is worthwhile because at the end of the day, while we have some indication of what is giving us trouble and which areas are giving us trouble, we do not yet know conclusively what the underlying cause is."

From Saturday night to the better part of Sunday morning, 122 Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT employees combed the entire 93km of the two lines to look for any faults. Another 40 workers scrutinized the trains.

To do this, they delayed the opening of train services from the usual 5.30 a.m. to a promised 10am that was pushed back by up to two hours at some stations.

Among other things, the inspectors found damage in three key areas that together keep the power supply running to the trains.

First, they found 21 dislodged "claws", or brackets that hold in place the third rail, which is the grid that runs alongside the tracks and supplies electricity to the trains.

Second, the inspectors found that 13 trains had damaged "collector shoes." Trains have these devices, or shoes, on their side, and they glide on the third rail. Without contact between the rail and the shoes, there would be no power.

Third, they also found 34 spots where protective covers of the third rail had been damaged.

As they combed through the lines, engineers kept uncovering damaged areas even as the promised 10am opening time drew near. That was when they decided to delay the opening.

Throughout Sunday morning, commuters' patience was tested once again as snaking queues grew for the shuttle bus services that SMRT had deployed to run parallel to the two MRT lines.

Lui said that while the closure had inconvenienced commuters, it had also enabled the authorities to unearth "interesting findings" to analyze.

Engineers had found that the broken claws were clustered in 'sensitive areas' between Marina Bay and Raffles Place, City Hall and Raffles Place, and City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut.

These clusters coincide with places that have "floating slabs."

These slabs are used to absorb and minimize train vibrations, and are built just below the tracks that run through high-density areas or close to buildings. Other areas do not need this cushion as the surrounding environment is able to absorb the vibrations.

While these slabs can last up to 50 years and were last checked 10 years ago by SMRT, Lui said that another check on them would be done.

And as such a check is extensive and laborious, delaying the start of train services may need to be done again, he said, but he did not disclose further details.

Meanwhile, SMRT will be measuring vibration levels on board trains and on tracks.

Lui said that train speeds at 'sensitive areas' can be increased progressively when the authorities get more answers.

The reduction in speed will mean that the trains will go at 40kmh nearer these areas, down from top speeds of 80kmh.

For now, LTA and SMRT will also continue to visually inspect tracks each night.

Asked why previous checks had not uncovered the broken claws, Lui would not give a definitive answer.

"I think some of these questions related to maintenance issues, maintenance regimes and standard operating procedures, we will have to delve deeper into them, and I am quite certain the Committee of Inquiry will want to spend time and focus on this area as well," he said.

SMRT has said that tracks are checked every day, and each section is checked every week.

While train services returned to normal by mid-afternoon on Sunday, some commuters' festive mood had soured. Accountant Yan Chun Ying, 37, said her husband had trudged home alone and refused to go shopping after they quarreled over the shuttle bus delays.

"My mood has been completely ruined," she said while waiting at the Ang Mo Kio station taxi stand.

Commuters are bracing themselves for further disruptions as another commuting week begins on Monday.

Among them is marketing executive Tan Pei Qi, 25, who plans to leave home 20 minutes earlier so she can hop onto a bus or take a taxi if her train is delayed.

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055.