Siemens clinches contract to boost reliability of North-South, East-West MRT lines

File photo showing an SMRT train leaving Bishan MRT Station on the North-South Line, where track circuits from German engineering group Siemens will replace existing, expiring equipment. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - German engineering group Siemens has clinched a contract to supply 1,253 track circuits for the North-South and East-West MRT lines.

Siemens said on Friday (July 20) that it will also supply a fully integrated system, called RailCom Manager, to better track circuit condition monitoring and provide advance warning of maintenance requirements.

"RailCom Manager will eliminate disruptive, time-consuming and costly false alarms," it said.

The company would not say how much the contract is worth, except that it was "a multi-million-dollar" deal.

The circuits will be installed in 58 signalling equipment rooms across the network, replacing existing, expiring equipment.

Installed in the operational control centre, the Siemens RailCom Manager will receive data from each of the track circuits and constantly monitor their condition.

Through advanced analytical techniques, the system will provide alarm and advance warning of any deterioration in performance.

The track circuit condition monitoring system will be able to identify any underlying or recurring issues.

Mr Michel Obadia, chief executive of Siemens Mobility, said: "We believe that our track circuit condition monitoring system is a great solution for this project and will deliver a wide range of operational, cost and performance benefits to LTA (Land Transport Authority).

"In the past, false positives had been a real issue, and it's one that we intend to completely eliminate."

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