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The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT joint team is working to reduce the number of train service withdrawals by 2013.
The team, which was set up to look into how to reduce disruptions and increase the reliability of the train lines, observed an upward trend of shorter delays lasting less than 10 minutes.
These delays are primarily due to trains being withdrawn from service on the North-South and East-West lines, as a result of ageing assets and increased train runs.
They said this has caused inconvenience to commuters and the impact is more widely felt when such withdrawals occur during the peak period, and they aim to reverse this trend.
SMRT also said that it will address train and signalling system related faults, as majority of withdrawals are caused by such faults.
Other train withdrawals are due to passenger-related incidents such as when foreign objects are caught between train doors.
SMRT will be refurbishing and replacing train components related to major subsystems such as the propulsion and pneumatic systems.
The propulsion system is responsible for moving the train while the pneumatic system controls parts of the trains such as doors and brake systems.
SMRT will also be replacing older electronic cards and related equipment of the signalling system. A fault in an electronic card can disrupt signals sent between the trains and track equipment, leading to a delay or withdrawal of the train from service.
Its maintenance regime will also be reviewed and SMRT is placing more emphasis on replacing and renewing its assets, on top of repairing and maintaining them.
In the longer term, different generations of trains will get a mid-life upgrade, as well as track-related replacement work.
Group Director of Vehicle and Transit Licensing Colin Lim said: "Together with SMRT, LTA has taken a deeper and systematic look at the recent train delays. The improvement measures will result in a significant reduction in train faults over the coming months.
"Going forward, we expect to see greater improvements in train service reliability in the medium and long term."
klim@sph.com.sg
 
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