Emergency preparedness exercise at Bugis MRT station on Jun 6, commuters may face additional travel time

SINGAPORE: Commuters using Bugis MRT station are advised to factor in additional travel time next Monday (Jun 6) due to an emergency preparedness exercise.

Exercise Station Guard, taking place from 10am to 4pm, will be carried out by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), SBS Transit and SMRT Trains.

The exercise aims to strengthen security in public places and is part of the national SGSecure movement to build resilience in the community against security threats, particularly from terror attacks, they said in a news release on Tuesday.

It also serves to raise public awareness of the security threats which Singapore faces and familiarise commuters on how they should respond in the event of an emergency on the public transport network, they added.

“During the exercise, commuters entering the station and heading to the East-West Line platform will be directed towards the fare gates near exits B and C, while commuters heading to the Downtown Line platform will be directed to the fare gates near exits E and F.”

Commuters are therefore advised to factor in additional travel time for security screening during the exercise period, as some may be asked to go through metal detector checks and have their belongings scanned by X-ray machines.

Those with bulky items may require more time for such checks, they said.

Commuters must also keep their masks on while going through the security screening, in line with the current requirement when commuting on public transport.

LTA and Singapore’s public transport operators have been conducting Exercise Station Guard on a regular basis since February 2018.

Such exercises are complemented by public education efforts, such as the “See Something, Say Something” campaign, which encourages commuters to report suspicious items, persons and activities they come across on public transport.