Faulty Platform Screen Doors at Braddell MRT Station Stayed Open as Trains Continued Running

By
Nicholas Chia
-

Imagine this: you hear the ever familiar sound of “door closing” followed by a series of beeps.

So, you do what any Singaporean would do and rush to catch the train.

To your relief, you see that the platform screen doors are still open. But hold on: something seems off.

You finally reach the open doors, but where’s the train?

Faulty Platform Screen Doors at Braddell MRT Station Stayed Open as Trains Continued Running

On Wednesday (3 Mar), at around 5.10pm, a fault caused the platform screen doors at Braddell MRT station on the North-South Line (NSL) to remain open.

This resulted in the SMRT staff having to keep the doors open on the side heading towards Marina South Pier. Police officers and SMRT staff were seen asking commuters to stand further behind to avoid any mishaps.

It’s never a good thing when you’re rushing and you see police officers and SMRT staff in the train station. Especially not during peak hour.

Train services were not halted. Due to the open doors, however, incoming and outgoing trains were made to move at a slower speed as a safety measure. This seemed almost reminiscent of a similar incident in 2018 at the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.

Fortunately for commuters travelling home during this especially busy period, no major delays were experienced and commuting continued as per normal. 

By 6.45pm, after more than 90 minutes, the fault was rectified and the platform screen doors were working normally. However, one of the screen doors at the end was closed off and barricaded.

Staying Safe While Taking the MRT

Even when you’re in a rush, safety is a top priority when incidents like these occur. Do listen to the instructions given by the MRT staff and back away from the doors and to safety.

In 2017, a 43-year-old man who was intoxicated fell onto the LRT tracks at Fajar station. In his intoxicated state, he lay on the tracks for three minutes before sitting up.

Similarly, on 25 Feb this year, train services were disrupted on the East-West Line (EWL), between Bugis and Aljunied. This was caused by a man who was run over by an MRT train at Kallang MRT station. The man had allegedly entered through the tunnel opening in between the Lavender and Kallang MRT stations.

Following the incident, SMRT has fixed barb wire where the trespasser entered, and reinforced it with concertina wire to prevent similar incidents from occurring.

If it’s just waiting a couple of minutes more for the next train, it’s not worth risking your safety just to be on time. During day to day commutes, be gracious, stay alert, and stop rushing for the train, especially when the doors are closing.

Freak accidents occur from time to time so please prioritise your physical well-being above all. Stay safe when commuting on the MRT, and do note these upcoming station closures on the EWL.

To read more about the fault at Braddell MRT station, click here.

Feature Image: TK Kurikawa / Shutterstock.com

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Nicholas Chia
Email: [email protected]