Root cause of train service disruption still not known

Singapore

THE root cause of Tuesday's train service disruption has still not yet been identified, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Thursday evening.

It also disclosed that an independent consultant will be brought in.

"LTA and SMRT engineers conducted a second round of system checks last night, including visual checks on all trains," it said in a statement.

"Despite carrying out a comprehensive second round of checks, we have yet to definitively identify the root cause of the disruption.

"An independent consultant who specialises in transit power systems will be engaged to look into the overall conditional assessment of the entire power supply infrastructure and other railway trackside installations."

LTA said that this assessment could start as soon as this month, once the specialists are on board.

In the meantime, LTA and rail operator SMRT will continue checks on the system, the regulator said.

Tuesday's breakdown of the heavily used North-South and East-West lines during the evening peak period had affected about 250,000 commuters.