9 Facts about the MRT Lightning Strike You Probably Want to Know

Oh boy. What’s with our MRT these days. This is just a bad year for our beloved transport system, isn’t it? I mean, we’ve been talking about the MRT so much and yet we don’t seem to be running out of topics.

That being said, something happened again yesterday.

Hey, don’t give me that face. This time, it’s pretty bad. Technical difficulties aside, there are some things you simply can’t control.

Like getting struck by lightning.

Yeah, that’s right. So, here are 10 facts you might want to know about the incident.

1. What happened last evening

Yesterday (20 Nov) at around 4 pm, a MRT train was struck by lightning near Bedok station. The train stalled for awhile due to the lightning strike. As a result, Journeys time between Paya Lebar and Tanah Merah were delayed for around 10 minutes.

2. The Train Captain felt unwell

No, that was not all. If it was that simple, we wouldn’t be making an article about the incident, right? After the passengers were detrained at Bedok station, the Train Captain said that he felt unwell and received medical attention afterwards.

3. Hospitalization and issues

Subsequently, the Train Captain was taken to Changi General Hospital around 4:20 pm. He was conscious during the trip to the hospital(Which is a good thing, I hope). It was reported that the Train Captain was suffering from chest pain and numbness.

The Train Captain has been warded on Monday night for further observations.

4. Trains are occasionally struck by lightning

I’m pretty sure the incident is not going to stop us from taking the train (Hey, not like we have a choice). However, if you’re still worried about whether you’ll become the next victim of a lightning strike, I have good news for you.

Trains on surface lines do occasionally get struck by lightning.

(Okay, that didn’t come out the way I intended it to)

What I mean is, trains are struck by lightning occasionally, but you don’t hear about people getting injured, right? That’s because passengers are protected.

5. The Faraday Cage

The fara-wha? Well, I’m not a science student (Why do you think I’m writing this article instead of science-ing around in a lab), but anything that sounds like Frankenstein’s Monster is science, right?

The Faraday cage is an enclosure created out of conductive materials. It’s supposed to block electric currents, like those from a lightning strike.

So, it’s like reverse Frankenstein’s Monster lah? Ehh, guess I was half right.

6. Not the first time this has happened

As it turns out, issues caused lightning strikes aren’t that uncommon after all. On 11th May, 2016, a MRT train on the North-South line was also disabled by a lightning strike at around 4 pm (Hmm, could this be a trend?). That time around, services from Yishun to Yio Chu Kang were disrupted.

7. An alarm went off…elsewhere

Approximately an hour before the incident on Monday, an alarm went off at Clementi Station. It was later reported to be a false alarm by the police. Considering this actually happened all the way at the other side of Singapore, I don’t think these events are related. But tell me if I’m wrong. I’m fairly certain there are people out there claiming that this is a “sign” by some gods or something.

(I like this song. But in cases like this, let’s ask science)

8. Hang on, so what happened?

Oh yes, if we were actually so well protected from lightning strikes, what could’ve caused the driver to be hospitalized?

SMRT’s vice-president of corporate communications, Mr Patrick Nathan, said that they are “currently investigating this incident as a possible lightning strike”.

“Possible”. So, we’re still not entirely sure if it was due to a lightning strike. Perhaps the driver was shocked(Well, both definitions of shock) by the lightning strike and it has caused some complications within his body?

9. Lightning activity was detected

The Meteorological Service Singapore has also said that lightning activity was detected between 2 pm to 6 pm yesterday.

“Around 3.37pm this afternoon, a cloud-to-ground lightning stroke was detected close to the Tanah Merah MRT station”

As much as the investigations are ongoing, I suppose we are quite safe to assume that a lightning strike was the likely cause of the issue.

(Please don’t delay our train anymore leh)

Whatever the case, let’s hope the man is fine. Lightning strike or not, I’m sure the employees of SMRT are under a lot of pressure lately. In a situation like this, we can’t really blame anyone, right?

Since you’re here, why not watch a video about an NTU student who went all out to impress his crush, only to end up in…tragedy? Here, watch it and do remember to share it (and also subscribe to Goody Feed YouTube channel)!

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

Read Also

• There’s Actually a Wiki Page of All MRT Breakdowns
• 7 Facts About the MRT Signalling System We Should Know ‘Coz It’s Not Just Causing Disruptions Now
• Everything About the Joo Koon MRT Collision Explanation in 60 Sec

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Image: straitstimes.com