Pasir Ris rail accident

The Pasir Ris rail accident was a train accident that occurred on 22 March 2016, at the track switch near Pasir Ris MRT station in Pasir Ris, Singapore, on the East-West MRT Line. A C151 train struck two SMRT Trains trainee track workers at around 60 km/h, resulting in their deaths. The two deceased workers were working on a track point machine at that time as part of a team of 15 track personnel. This incident was "the worst train accident" in Singapore MRT's history.[2][3]

Pasir Ris rail accident
Tracks leading out of Pasir Ris station, where the accident took place. The accident occurred at track switch in the distance.
Details
Date22 March 2016 (2016-03-22)
LocationNear Pasir Ris MRT station
CountrySingapore
LineEast West MRT Line
OperatorSMRT Trains
Incident typeCollision with track workers on track
CauseHuman error, failure to comply with safety procedures[1]
Statistics
Trains1 Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151
Deaths2 (SMRT staff)
Injured0

SMRT Trains and one member of SMRT management were charged for violating the Workplace Safety and Health Act that led to this accident, and were fined $400,000 and $55,000 respectively.[2] The SMRT engineer who led the track team at the scene of the accident was dismissed from SMRT Trains and charged with negligence causing death under the Penal Code.[4] The SMRT engineer was thus jailed for four weeks.[5]

Incident

The incident occurred at 11:10 a.m. on 22 March 2016, when a team of 15 track personnel was deployed to a track switch near Pasir Ris MRT station to investigate a high voltage alarm that indicated a possible track point fault.[6] The team of 15 track workers walked in a single file towards the track point equipment to investigate the problem, and was granted track access. The two deceased workers, Nasrulhudin Majumudin and Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, were second and third in the team walking as a file on the sidewalk near the third rail.[6] Both were trainees in SMRT Trains.[6] No speed restriction or ATC-code restriction was imposed on that section of track and there was no railway watchman to warn train captains of the presence of workers on track.[1][3] The train involved, trainset 073/074 (a Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151), was operated in automatic mode under Westinghouse ATC and maintained a speed of 60 km/h.[1]

The two deceased personnel, one supervisor, and at least one more track worker crossed over the third rail and onto the track to access the signaling equipment.[6] A senior officer in the team then noticed the train and yelled "train is coming! The train is coming!".[6] Members of the team tried to jump back into the sidewalk to seek refuge. The train driver noticed the track workers and applied the emergency brakes. However, the train struck both Nasrulhudin and Muhammad Asyraf.[6] Nasrulhudin was crushed under the train, while Muhammad Asyraf was impacted by the train.[6] Both personnel suffered multiple injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.[7] Service between Tanah Merah and Pasir Ris was suspended as a result for 2.5 hours, affecting 10,000 commuters.[7]

Investigation and aftermath

Action against employees

After an internal investigation, SMRT dismissed both the engineer who led the track team and the train driver involved at the scene of the accident.[8][9] The sacking of both employees attracted online controversy, with Singaporeans on social media questioning whether it was fair to dismiss the train driver.[10]

References
  1. Tan, Christopher (26 April 2016). "Safety lapses cause of fatal accident: SMRT". Straits Times. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  2. Vanessa, Paige (29 September 2017). "SMRT Trains director fined S$55,000 for fatal Pasir Ris track accident". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  3. Paige, Vanessa (28 February 2017). "SMRT fined S$400,000 for safety lapses leading to fatal accident near Pasir Ris station". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  4. Ng, Kelly (2 December 2016). "SMRT charged over fatal accident". Today (newspaper). Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  5. Tan, Tam Mei (12 March 2018). "Engineer who led SMRT trainees onto tracks in 2016 fatal rail accident jailed for 4 weeks". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  6. Seow, Bei Yi (24 March 2016). "SMRT track accident at Pasir Ris: Trainee barely escaped as best friend was killed". Straits Times. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  7. "2 SMRT staff dead in accident near Pasir Ris station". Channel NewsAsia. 22 March 2016. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  8. "2 SMRT staff, including train driver, sacked over fatal Pasir Ris accident". Channel NewsAsia. 14 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  9. Chong, Elena (2 December 2016). "SMRT, 2 others charged over fatal track accident". Straits Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  10. "Online flak for SMRT after sacking of 2 staff involved in Pasir Ris accident". Today (newspaper). 14 September 2016. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.

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