99 new trains to help boost rail reliability: Khaw Boon Wan
SINGAPORE: The 99 new trains that will be added to Singapore’s rail network will cost more than S$1 billion upfront, but they are a “worthy investment” to help improve the reliability of the MRT system, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Wednesday (Dec 2).
The new trains will be added from now until 2019, he said. Fifty-seven of the trains will go to the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL), 24 to the Circle Line (CCL) and 18 to the North-East Line (NEL).
As part of the purchases, rail engineers and technical staff from Singapore will be posted to the overseas factories where the trains are being built to monitor the entire assembly process and participate in train testing, he added.
“This also helps our officers gain valuable experience and enhance their technical understanding of the trains,” Mr Khaw said.
The new trains will have improved propulsion systems, and more reliable and durable AC synchronous motors which require less maintenance. The new NSEWL trains will also have electric train doors that need lower maintenance and will eliminate air leakage problems associated with the older pneumatic doors, he said.
The operations data for each train door will be logged and stored for the maintenance crew to pre-empt door faults before they occur. Nearly half of the major disruptions on the NSEWL were due to train issues, with other factors such as track or power faults causing the rest, Mr Khaw said.
“As with all machines, as trains age, we must work harder to keep them in good condition ... Eventually, we must decide when to replace them with new trains,” he said.
“Fortunately, with time, better train models with enhanced reliability features have become available in the market. These trains are also easier to operate and maintain. Adding them to our fleet can therefore make a difference to the overall performance of the rail network and in turn, better our service delivery.”
- CNA/cy
how stupid can he go?
what is the use of new cars when the road is broken ?
Article not worded properly...
at least this fix only 50% of the problem...
both aging train and rail needs to be replaced...
At least this time round the money is spent on equipments...
The previous SAW only spend it on human sedan and high dividend payouts...
but why is Hui Ge making the announcement and not SMRT CEO?
fixing 50% of the system is as good as ZERO
its still dont work
I suspect Bombardier is supplying the driverless train sets and Siemens is supplying the driven ones.