LTA, transport operators tasked with studying ways to improve LRT safety: Jeffrey Siow
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Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said physical and technological constraints have prevented the installation of platform screen doors at LRT stations, but added that there is always a need to look for better solutions.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
- The Land Transport Authority and operators are exploring new safety solutions for LRT stations after a fatal fall at Segar station in May, including manual platform screen doors and automated rope barriers.
- Physical and technical challenges prevent installing traditional platform screen doors at LRT stations, leading to alternative fixed barriers and alert systems to enhance passenger safety.
- In the last three years, there were two deaths on MRT and LRT networks amid millions of daily trips.
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SINGAPORE – The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and public transport operators have been tasked with re-examining all possible solutions to boost safety at LRT stations in the aftermath of a fatal incident at Segar station in May.
That will include the feasibility of manually operated platform screen doors that do not need to be synchronised with train doors, as well as automated rope barriers, said Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow.
In a written reply to parliamentary questions from Edward Chia (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) and Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang), Siow said physical and technological constraints have prevented the installation of platform screen doors at LRT stations.
However, the fatal incident on May 18 – when a 68-year-old man died after falling in front of an oncoming train at Segar LRT station – is a reminder that “we must never stop looking for better solutions”, he added.
“We should not assume that what was not feasible before will remain infeasible forever,” Siow said.
He added that he could not share specifics of the Segar LRT incident as investigations are ongoing.
The police are investigating, while the LTA is looking at the “adequacy and appropriateness of safety measures and incident response processes”.
Siow noted that the MRT network lacked screen doors at platforms of above-ground stations when it first opened in 1987. The authorities started installing doors at above-ground stations from 2009 to ensure commuter safety, and this was completed in 2012.
Siow said the platform screen doors could not be replicated at LRT stations, which are much smaller and do not have sufficient space to install the necessary equipment and cabling to operate such doors.
Installing them would also possibly require some LRT stations to be closed for extended periods, he added.
As a result, alternative solutions were implemented instead, such as fixed barriers with intermittent gaps, through which passengers board the train.
These come with their own risks, said Siow, who added that some commuters have been observed leaning against them.
“But on balance, they provide better protection than having no barriers at all, particularly during busy periods,” he said.
He added that public transport operators have also used video analytics technology to detect and issue alerts when a person moves past the barriers and enters the tracks. These track intrusion detection systems have been in place on the SMRT-operated Bukit Panjang LRT since 2023, and on the SBS Transit-operated Sengkang-Punggol LRT since 2024.
Over the last three years, there have been two deaths across the MRT and LRT networks.
Siow said: “Every loss of life matters. This is precisely why even a single fatality on our network is one too many, and why we treat each one with the utmost seriousness.”
Commuter safety will always be the highest priority, he added.
“The transport sector has made significant improvements over the years, but there is always more to be done.”
