SINGAPORE: Tenty-five people were injured after an SMRT train collided with a stationary train at Joo Koon station at 8.20am on Wednesday morning (Nov 15), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT said.
In its first tweet at 8.25am, SMRT said that a “train fault” happened at Joo Koon station.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) later said it was alerted to the incident at 8.33am.
In a joint statement issued at 11.12am, SMRT and LTA said a train heading in the direction of Tuas Link station stalled at Joo Koon station at 8.18am.
A minute later, a second train stopped behind the first faulty train, the statement added.
“At 8.20am, the second train moved forward unexpectedly, and came into contact with the first train,” the statement said.
SMRT and LTA added that they are investigating the incident.
An MRT train collided with a stationary train at Joo Koon MRT station. (Photo: Facebook/Mei Anne)
Twenty-three passengers and two SMRT staff sustained “light to moderate injuries”, and were taken to Ng Teng Fong Hospital and National University Hospital (NUH).
Channel NewsAsia understands that 10 people were taken to Ng Teng Fong Hospital and 15 were at NUH.
A spokesman from Ng Teng Fong Hospital said among the 10 injured at the hospital, two were assessed to have sustained injuries under the P2 category or “major emergencies” such as limb fractures and joint dislocation.
Another eight sustained minor injuries and were assessed to be under the P3 category, which includes sprains and minor head injuries.
Facebook user Mei Anne wrote that she was a passenger on one of the trains, and hurt her back as a result of the collision.
A platform at Joo Koon MRT station was cordoned off with police tape following the incident. At least 10 emergency vehicles were seen outside the station.
LAST MRT TRAIN COLLISION WAS IN 1993
The last time that an MRT train collision happened in Singapore was more than two decades ago. That incident, a front-to-back collision between two trains at Clementi station on Aug 5, 1993, resulted in 156 injured commuters.
An independent inquiry panel found that the accident was caused by a 50L oil spill from a maintenance locomotive which had been carrying out maintenance work at about 5am on the day of the accident.
Following the findings, SMRT revised its operating procedures to require staff to inspect the platform tracks for oil, and in the event of an oil spill, the train at the station preceding the spill will not move off until the train ahead has left the station.
