Stringent
safety controls in place as work on Canberra MRT station
begins
SINGAPORE – Stringent safety controls have been put in place as
work begins on the Canberra MRT station, a project the Land
Transport Authority (LTA) said would be particularly challenging as
it would be built on the existing North-South line unlike most new
stations.
LTA’s safety assurance on Saturday came days after a safety lapse
near the Pasir Ris MRT station resulted in the death of two
maintenance workers, Mr Nasrulhudin Najumudin, 26, and Mr Muhammad
Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24. SMRT said a key safety procedure — to
ensure trains do not enter sectors where maintenance workers had to
step on the trackway — was not followed in the events leading up to
the fatal accident on Tuesday morning.
Canberra station, which will be located between Sembawang and
Yishun stations, is only the second to be built on an existing rail
line. The first was Dover MRT station, which was built in 2001 on
the East-West line.
LTA said in its statement: “Even with prior experience, building a
station on an operational line still presents challenges. Firstly,
as the work is carried out next to a ‘live’ railway track, detailed
risk assessments of every construction activity will have to be
carried out and the appropriate safety measures must be taken.
“Secondly, major safety critical works next to the existing tracks
are confined to the three to four hours when the trains are not
running. To ensure safety when carrying out works close to the
‘live’ railway track, LTA and the contractor will impose stringent
control on the works being carried out and coordinate with SMRT for
access to the work area.”
As part of the safety procedures, a full scale mock-up of the
station column and roof will be installed off-site for the LTA to
determine the safest and most effective way to carry out the actual
construction onsite.
In addition, while the station’s roof is being built, a temporary
protection enclosure will be built to cover and protect the
existing railway tracks and trains at the site of the new
station.
LTA added that the work processes used in the building of Dover
station have been enhanced, stressing that it has implemented a
“robust project safety review process for the design and
construction phases, and have carried out detailed risk assessments
for the Canberra station.”
The Canberra station will serve commuters living in nearby estates
such as Sembawang Springs as well as upcoming residential
developments in the neighbourhood. It is expected to open in 2019.
Commuters in the area who are are travelling towards the city
centre of Jurong East can expect to save up to 10 minutes of travel
time.
-- TODAYonline