White Smoke That Filled MRT Train on Thursday Night is Due to a Refrigerant Gas Leak

Imagine you are enjoying a peaceful ride on Singapore’s MRT train when suddenly, a cloud of white smoke fills the cabin.

Last night (7 September 2023) at approximately 9:50 pm, this scene became a reality as white smoke enveloped an MRT train. The footage quickly went viral, leaving netizens buzzing with speculation and concern.

 

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But before you jump on the panic train, let’s clear the air.

Keeping Cool: The Mystery of the White Smoke Unveiled

The source of the white smoke was nothing more than a refrigerant gas leak, a minor hiccup in the train’s air-conditioning system.

Passengers aboard the east-bound train experienced a brief interruption to their journey as they were asked to disembark at the City Hall MRT station.

As recounted by a passenger, the train paused for a mere five minutes before resuming its journey.

SMRT Trains president, Lam Sheau Kai, addressed the incident, revealing that the first-generation train, which has been faithfully serving commuters since 1987, was the source of the leak.

In a statement, Mr Lam expressed his apologies for the disruption, emphasizing that the evacuation was a necessary safety precaution.

He encouraged passengers to simply board the next train and assured that no commuters required medical attention post the incident. “Our staff did not receive any reports of commuters who required medical attention,” he noted, adding a silver lining to the smoky situation by confirming that train services continued as per normal thereafter.

Chilling Facts: What Exactly is Refrigerant Gas?

For those scratching their heads and wondering, “What on earth is refrigerant gas?”, let’s dive a little deeper.

Picture a magical sponge capable of absorbing all the heat from a piping hot cup of kopi-o kosong, cooling it down in a jiffy. This is essentially what a refrigerant gas does, but for appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners.

This miraculous gas circulates within the pipes of your cooling devices, absorbing internal heat and transporting it outside, thereby keeping the interiors cool and fresh. Following this, it releases the absorbed heat into the external environment, transforming back into a liquid state, ready to repeat the cycle.

While the sight of it might have caused a stir, refrigerant gas is not particularly dangerous.

However, it can be extremely cold, and certain types are prone to catching fire easily. So, while it might have seemed like a scene straight out of a movie, there was no cause for alarm, just a little “cool” excitement to spice up the evening commute.