We refer to Mr Jason Ho Beng Lee’s letter, “MRT evacuation drills may improve response to train breakdowns” (TODAY, 5 December 2015).

We agree with Mr Ho that drills can improve our preparedness for train breakdowns. LTA regularly conducts large-scale ground deployment exercises at MRT stations, as well as table-top exercises to test the readiness of our public transport operators and the LTA in various scenarios. These exercises help to enhance our response procedures and ensure that the operators and other stakeholders maintain a high level of operational readiness in managing train incidents.  

Exercise Greyhound was the latest exercise conducted on 14 October this year, where LTA, SMRT and SBS Transit jointly tested the enhanced incident management plans for major disruptions. Existing measures, such as shuttle bus services and the free boarding of regular bus services along the affected rail corridor, were activated. Staff from SMRT and SBS Transit were also deployed to attend to affected commuters. Additional measures, including special shuttle services that ply between major towns and key interchange stations, as well as beacon lights at bus stops to indicate the availability of free boarding for regular bus services, were also tested.

In addition to these exercises, LTA also conducts regular audits at every train station to ensure that all transport staff are familiar with the Rail and Bus Incident Management Plans. These audits cover key incident management areas such as customer service, information dissemination and bus bridging. LTA will continue to work with the public transport operators to improve our emergency preparedness and incident management.

We thank Mr Ho for the opportunity to clarify.

Helen Lim (Ms)
Director, Media Relations
Land Transport Authority