The SMRT saga regarding last month’s flooded train tunnel incident has taken another concerning turn — the transport operator confirmed that maintenance records for the flood pump system at Bishan station had been falsified.
An internal investigation revealed that there were instances of falsified records of scheduled maintenance works by the assigned team between December 2016 and June 2017, meaning more than a few months went by without any works actually done.
SMRT assured that disciplinary action will be taken against the team, consisting of six members from the Building and Facilities Maintenance group. Another seven managerial staff will face further probing into their “supervisory responsibility”.
“SMRT reiterates its strong stand of having zero tolerance for failures in supervision and diligence over maintenance tasks,” the company wrote in a statement.
“We will sharpen our performance management processes, further streamline organisational structures and strengthen the line of sight and accountability so we can steer our teams to achieve higher standards in safety, service and reliability outcomes”
The flooding incident on Oct 7 saw train services on the North-South Line being shut down for over 20 hours after heavy rain resulted in a flooding of the underground Bishan MRT station, leaving about 250,000 commuters stranded. As Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan pointed out later on, the stormwater pit meant to contain the water “had not been maintained properly”, and the pumping system had been faulty even before the incident.
Today, Khaw is set to deliver a ministerial statement in response to the flurry of questions tabled by 11 Members of Parliament, TODAY reported.
