No power tripping on MRT system during evening peak period: LTA

SINGAPORE — There was no power tripping on the MRT system during the evening peak period, said a Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesperson in a statement today (July 8), following a massive disruption on the North-South and East-West Lines yesterday evening.

However, the LTA spokesperson noted that “faults may still occur from time to time” as the LTA and SMRT search for the root cause of the yesterday’s power trip and urged commuters to check for updates before starting their trip.

The spokesperson said that the North-South and East-West Lines, in operation since 5.30am, are now operating at normal headways, or waiting time. In total, 119 trains were deployed to operate at intervals of two to three minutes on both lines. There were no power trips observed this morning as well.

“Over the course of last night, engineers have tried to systematically identify the root cause of the disruptions. They have conducted visual checks on trains, carried out checks on the MRT tracks and on the power systems, including the substation power supply equipment. LTA and SMRT will continue checks on the system after today’s operating hours,” said the spokesperson.

The LTA and SMRT, in a press conference today, identified at least three problems that had occurred yesterday, and which have been rectified. They were: Damaged insulation of two power cables along the North-South line, a faulty relay system at Kranji’s power substation, and a water leakage close to the third-rail insulator at Tanjong Pagar station.