Oil leak from train compressor caused freon gas to escape

SINGAPORE — The freon gas leak from a train at Tanjong Pagar MRT Station on Monday (Aug 15) resulted from oil leakage from a compressor, going by preliminary investigations, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

“(It) resulted in overheating of the compressor and caused the evaporation of freon gas, which was released,” he told the House on Tuesday, responding to Government Parliamentary Committee (Transport) chairman Sitoh Yih Pin.

When the incident happened at around 2.50pm on Monday, commuters ran out of the train and away from the platform to escape the fumes. No injuries were reported.

SMRT employees turned on the tunnel ventilation system to disperse the gas and train services were barely affected.

Freon, a colourless and odourless gas, is toxic in large quantities, and areas are normally evacuated and closed off when the gas is released.

In Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Khaw said that the train involved was a first-generation model from Kawasaki.

“It’s an old train ... so the train and air-con compressors are all almost 20-odd years (old) by now, and that’s the trouble with old parts. Sometimes little problems happen,” he said, adding that the train was checked every three weeks, and was last examined in early August.

It has been towed to Ulu Pandan Depot for inspection and engineers pulled apart the compressor on Tuesday morning to trace the cause of the leakage.

“We need to know the reason for this ... old assets are not the same as new assets, therefore you have to pay particular attention to these assets. It’s like a human body, a 40-year-old is not the same as a 14-year-old, and likewise the same thing for trains,” said Mr Khaw.