MRT breakdown: Emergency power should have kicked in

Passengers affected by Thursday's train breakdown should not have been gasping for air or been plunged into darkness even if they were trapped in a stalled train, said train operator SMRT.

When a train loses its power and stops on the tracks, an emergency power system should kick in.

Called the Uninterrupted Power Supply, this back-up system powers emergency lights and ventilation but not air-conditioning.

The back-up supply, provided by a battery, should last 45 minutes.

That length of time should give an adequate window for SMRT staff to push or pull the train to the nearest station or help passengers disembark and walk to a station, said SMRT.

But commuters stuck in trains during Thursday's train breakdown complained of having trouble breathing due to poor ventilation; some said they were waiting in unlit carriages.

Marketing executive Eve Goh, 24, recalled the 'unbearable' heat after the air-conditioning shut down when the train she was in stalled between City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut.

'We were sitting there, getting hotter and hotter. People were fanning themselves, it was very stuffy,' she said.

A 41-year-old woman was sent to the hospital after she fainted on the train. One commuter even broke a window using a fire extinguisher to let air in.

Said SMRT's senior vice-president for communications and services, Mr Goh Chee Kong: 'At that point in time we're aware that it was very crowded.

'So when it was very crowded, the ventilation for some people, they do not feel it.'

As for being stuck in the dark, Mr Goh said emergency lighting, though slightly dimmer than the usual train lighting, should have kicked in.

But Ms Lim Hwei Lee, a market researcher in her 30s who was trapped in the train between City Hall and Dhoby Ghaut, said her carriage was shrouded in darkness.

'It was totally dark because the lights had gone out completely. Many people around started using their phones for light so that we could see,' she said.

SMRT said it is investigating claims by commuters that it was very dark and that there were no lights in some train carriages.

MARIA ALMENOAR

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