New maintenance measures rolled out for breakdown-prone Bukit Panjang LRT

Faulty signals, patchy traction power are key issues.

SMRT and LTA will roll out new maintenance measures to make the breakdown-prone Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) more reliable.

A joint team by LTA and SMRT has identified system faults causing the loss of train signals and traction power as the key contributors of past incidents. 

SMRT said that is working with Bombardier Transport which supplied the BPLRT system to address these faults.
SMRT will be replacing the power rail brackets at breakdown-prone LRT crossings to address the issue of traction power tripping.

To address signalling issues, the operator will enhance the gap breaker panels with improved features for better isolation and insulation of internal components to reduce the likelihood of arcing between the electrical components and smouldering incidents.

Here’s more from SMRT and LTA:

SMRT will deploy more operations and maintenance staff at the BPLRT stations to provide timely assistance and rectification of faults, in a further effort to minimise inconvenience to commuters in the event of technical faults. 

This effort includes hiring more staff for BPLRT train-cars and stations, which are designed to operate unmanned, as well as putting out clear signage to notify commuters of free bus services.

In addition, SMRT is working with the train-car manufacturer on remote reset features from the BPLRT Operation Control Centre. When this is completed, operations staff will be able to remote reset the train-cars for faster service recovery.