25 hurt at S’pore MRT station
SMRT train hits another that came to a halt moments earlier
SINGAPORE: Two commuters sustained injuries that were categorised as “major emergencies” – and another 23 people were injured – when an SMRT train that had stalled as it entered Joo Koon MRT was hit from behind by another one.
The collision took place around 8am yesterday during the morning rush hour.
The incident led to major delays on the EastWest Line.
At the same time, the Circle Line was hit by a major disruption, said to have been caused by a door fault.
A total of 23 passengers and two SMRT staff sustained light to moderate injuries, and were taken to the National University Hospital and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
Of the 10 who were taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, a spokesman said two were assessed to have sustained injuries under the P2 category, or “major emergencies”, such as limb fractures and joint dislocation.
The other eight sustained relatively minor injuries.
The Straits Times understands that the incident has to do with a malfunction of the new signalling system.
The SMRT and Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a statement that at 8.18am, a train heading westwards in the direction of Tuas Link station stalled at the Joo Koon station on the EastWest Line.
About a minute later, a second train stopped behind the first train, but soon after, moved forward unexpectedly and “came into contact with the first train”.
Alexandru Robu, 35, was riding on the westbound train on the EastWest Line when the collision occurred.
“I’ve experienced sudden stops before on the MRT, but this time, it was really bad,” Robu, a service coordinator, said.
Passengers who posted on social media said that a number of those on the moving train fell when the two trains made contact.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted around 8.30am.
SMRT and LTA are investigating the incident.
Joo Koon station was closed to passengers after the incident till around 11.20am.
When The Straits Times visited the station, more than 50 personnel were seen at the site at around 11.35am, but it was unclear what work was being done.
Sports adviser Samuel Ng, 48, who was on a train from Pioneer that pulled into Joo Koon station at around 8.50am, noticed that it had been diverted to the opposite track.
“I thought it was unusual, but I just assumed that the train (on the other track) had stalled. I didn’t know they had collided,” he said. — The Straits Times/Asia News Network