Latest news with #R151
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Over half of 106 new MRT trains added to North-South, East-West lines; fleet completion by 2026
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE - More than half of the 106 latest seventh-generation MRT trains slated for the North-South and East-West lines (NSEWL) lines have entered service, two years after the first unit was deployed. As at June 29, 61 Alstom Movia R151 trains have entered service, a spokesperson for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) told The Straits Times. With three new trains being introduced monthly since October 2024, up from two per month in 2023, the train fleet renewal is expected to be complete by 2026. The first R151 trains entered service in June 2023. The new trains replace the first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI) trains. In September 2024, the failure of a KHI train crippled service along a stretch of the East-West Line for six days, in one of the worst disruptions in Singapore's rail history. Transport operator SMRT, which runs the line, was fined $3 million by the LTA. The delay in new train delivery, stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, was cited by SMRT as a reason for the KHI trains remaining in use and the operator extending the interval between overhauls beyond the manufacturer's requirement. The LTA said that there are 16 KHI trains in service on the NSEWL. By September, these trains will be phased out, according to a post by SMRT on its Facebook page on June 23. Designed in Germany, the new R151 trains are assembled in Changchun, China. They have built-in condition monitoring capabilities and diagnostic systems that can pick up faults early and track the performance of various systems in real time. The cars have bigger open spaces to increase passenger capacity while maintaining the number of seats. Other upgrades on board include wider windows and perch seats for passengers. The first 66 of the 106 trains were ordered in 2018 at the cost of $1.2 billion to replace the first-generation KHI trains. Another 40 trains, costing $337.8 million, were bought in 2020 to replace now-retired second-generation Siemens and third-generation Kawasaki-Nippon Sharyo trains. Alongside the KHI trains (introduced in 1987) and the R151, three other generations of trains, added between 2011 and 2018, are also operating on the NSEWL. These were manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and CSR Qingdao Sifang. They bring the NSEWL total fleet to 169 trains. Work to renew the NSEWL started in 2012. Valued at $2.6 billion, the refurbishment included not only new trains but also a new signalling system that allows the trains to run at shorter intervals, upgraded power rails that supply electricity to the trains, and a track circuit system capable of detecting rail defects. LTA said that the improvements have boosted the NSEWL's reliability, captured by the lines' Mean Kilometres Between Failure (MKBF), which is the reliability benchmark used for subways globally. The authority added that since 2019, the NSEWL's MKBF has been over a million train-km between delays of more than five minutes, compared with 70,000 train-km for the North-South line and 60,000 train-km for the East-West line in 2012. In LTA's latest rail reliability report, covering up to September 2024, the MKBF for the East-West MRT line, after accounting for the major service disruption, stood at 2.03 million train-km, down from 3.36 million train-km in 2023.
The Independent
28-02-2025
- The Independent
Fisherman who drowned in boat capsize was not wearing lifejacket, report finds
A fisherman who drowned after his vessel capsized might have had more chance of survival if he had been wearing a lifejacket, an investigation has found. Skipper Sandy Alexander, 69, was creel fishing alone in a cove at Melrose Point in Aberdeenshire when the vessel grounded and capsized, and he went overboard. Mr Alexander suffered a significant head injury and drowned in the incident on September 21, 2023. A Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report found the skipper had been fishing close to shore in a 1-1.5-metre swell when his vessel Lexi Rose grounded at 11.09am. The report said it is likely the outboard engine's lower assembly unit struck a rock and detached, which resulted in an immediate loss of propulsion and led to the vessel grounding and capsizing. It found the skipper was 'unlikely to have had time to take all possible actions that might have improved his chances of survival, such as setting an anchor; raising a Mayday distress; and donning a personal flotation device (PFD)'. Mr Alexander, who lived in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, was a non-swimmer who was known to occasionally wear a PFD while fishing. The report said: 'The skipper's chances of survival would have been improved had he been wearing a PFD.' The investigation found Mr Alexander spoke on the phone with the skipper of the vessel Chance which was nearby at 10.51am on the morning of September 21. The two skippers decided to work as a pair so they could provide support to each other if required. As Chance headed closer, the skipper heard a 'panicked' call on very high frequency (VHF) radio channel 12 from Mr Alexander, saying 'Lifeboat, lifeboat, lifeboat. We're ashore, engine stopped, need a lifeboat.' The report said the skipper of Chance immediately responded that they were on their way and steamed eastwards at full speed towards the area where they anticipated Lexi Rose was fishing. Soon afterwards, Mr Alexander called again on VHF channel 12, sounding 'increasingly panicked' and saying: 'I need a lifeboat, she's going, she's going.' The skipper of Chance tried to raise the alarm by ringing the Macduff harbourmaster, and the lifeboat coxswain and the coastguard was alerted at 11.16am by a member of the public. At around 11.12am, the skipper of Chance saw the upturned blue hull of Lexi Rose in a small cove at the base of Melrose Point but could not enter the cove due to the size of Chance, and started to search the area outside in case Mr Alexander had been swept out to sea. The Macduff inshore lifeboat arrived at the cove at 11.37am but could not enter it due to a combination of sea and swell. Coastguard helicopter R151 arrived at the scene at midday and located the Lexi Rose skipper floating in the cove. He was winched onboard the aircraft but was pronounced dead on the flight to Aberdeen. A post-mortem examination said the cause of death was a significant head injury and drowning. The MAIB report concluded it is likely the skipper of Lexi Rose had become used to the hazards of working single-handed close inshore and 'did not fully appreciate how the combined effect of the environmental conditions and a loss of propulsion could quickly escalate into an uncontrollable emergency situation'. It has issued a safety flyer to the fishing industry highlighting the lessons to be learned from the incident.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
Fisherman who drowned in boat capsize was not wearing lifejacket, report finds
A fisherman who drowned after his vessel capsized might have had more chance of survival if he had been wearing a lifejacket, an investigation has found. Skipper Sandy Alexander, 69, was creel fishing alone in a cove at Melrose Point in Aberdeenshire when the vessel grounded and capsized, and he went overboard. Mr Alexander suffered a significant head injury and drowned in the incident on September 21, 2023. A Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report found the skipper had been fishing close to shore in a 1-1.5-metre swell when his vessel Lexi Rose grounded at 11.09am. The report said it is likely the outboard engine's lower assembly unit struck a rock and detached, which resulted in an immediate loss of propulsion and led to the vessel grounding and capsizing. It found the skipper was 'unlikely to have had time to take all possible actions that might have improved his chances of survival, such as setting an anchor; raising a Mayday distress; and donning a personal flotation device (PFD)'. Mr Alexander, who lived in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, was a non-swimmer who was known to occasionally wear a PFD while fishing. The report said: 'The skipper's chances of survival would have been improved had he been wearing a PFD.' The investigation found Mr Alexander spoke on the phone with the skipper of the vessel Chance which was nearby at 10.51am on the morning of September 21. Today, we've published our report and safety flyer on the investigation of the grounding and capsize of the creel fishing vessel Lexi Rose (BF 370) on Melrose Point, north-east Scotland on 21 September 2023, resulting in one — MAIB (@maibgovuk) February 27, 2025 The two skippers decided to work as a pair so they could provide support to each other if required. As Chance headed closer, the skipper heard a 'panicked' call on very high frequency (VHF) radio channel 12 from Mr Alexander, saying 'Lifeboat, lifeboat, lifeboat. We're ashore, engine stopped, need a lifeboat.' The report said the skipper of Chance immediately responded that they were on their way and steamed eastwards at full speed towards the area where they anticipated Lexi Rose was fishing. Soon afterwards, Mr Alexander called again on VHF channel 12, sounding 'increasingly panicked' and saying: 'I need a lifeboat, she's going, she's going.' The skipper of Chance tried to raise the alarm by ringing the Macduff harbourmaster, and the lifeboat coxswain and the coastguard was alerted at 11.16am by a member of the public. At around 11.12am, the skipper of Chance saw the upturned blue hull of Lexi Rose in a small cove at the base of Melrose Point but could not enter the cove due to the size of Chance, and started to search the area outside in case Mr Alexander had been swept out to sea. The Macduff inshore lifeboat arrived at the cove at 11.37am but could not enter it due to a combination of sea and swell. Coastguard helicopter R151 arrived at the scene at midday and located the Lexi Rose skipper floating in the cove. He was winched onboard the aircraft but was pronounced dead on the flight to Aberdeen. A post-mortem examination said the cause of death was a significant head injury and drowning. The MAIB report concluded it is likely the skipper of Lexi Rose had become used to the hazards of working single-handed close inshore and 'did not fully appreciate how the combined effect of the environmental conditions and a loss of propulsion could quickly escalate into an uncontrollable emergency situation'. It has issued a safety flyer to the fishing industry highlighting the lessons to be learned from the incident.
