Record of Incidents on MRT and LRT Trains Such As Sudden Acceleration and Closing of Doors without Warning

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Transport (a) for each year over the past five years, how many instances have occurred of MRT or LRT trains (i) undergoing irregular and sudden acceleration and (ii) train doors closing without warning; and (b) whether there is any mechanism for collating data on such incidents if they are not reported by commuters.

Mr Speaker, over the past five years, the majority of cases of irregular and sudden acceleration and train doors closing without warning, occurred on the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWLs), which are our oldest lines. Commuters reported an average of 20 cases of irregular and sudden acceleration per year on Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) trains and two cases per year on Light Rail Transit (LRT) trains. The abrupt changes in speed stemmed from temporary speed restrictions due to ongoing track maintenance and renewal works.

Over the same period, commuters reported an average of 125 cases of train doors closing without warning per year for MRT trains, and less than one case per year for LRT trains. The NSEWLs are the only lines where the train doors are closed manually by the train captain on board. This introduces an element of human error. The new Communications-Based Train Control signalling system will address this by automating the announcement and closing of train doors.

Reports by commuters are the primary means by which data on such occurrences is collated. Every report is thoroughly investigated.