Downtown Line accident: Two men buried alive by cement

SINGAPORE - Work constructing an underground linkway between the new Downtown Line (DTL) and the current East-West Line at Bugis MRT Station started as usual early this morning.

10 workers were working on the casting of permanent roof slab between the new and old sections of Bugis MRT station. Eight were on top of the scaffolding supporting the formwork, while two others were working below.

Then, at 6.50am, the scaffolding 4m below the surface collapsed while workers were pouring concrete into the formwork.

Eight workers were injured and sent to Raffles Hospital, and two were missing. At 9.50am, LTA said that the two workers were still unaccounted for.

Over 50 SCDF rescuers and police officers arrived at the accident site with LTA employees, construction workers and two search dogs.

Collapsed bars and planks from the scaffolding covered the underground structure like a web. Rescue workers made their way through the 30m by 5m, and 15m-deep site by cutting metal bars with a blow torch.

At around 10.40am, a body was spotted trapped under fallen scaffolding and submerged in wet cement. It took workers an hour to extract the body. At noon, the death of one worker was confirmed.

Workers from the Public Utilities Board were also seen checking sewage pipes near the site, while police officers were spotted carrying a body tent, which is usually deployed in cases where deaths occurred.

SCDF officers pumped water in the area to keep the cement wet. It was a race against time to find the other missing worker.

At 12.15pm, LTA assured that the DTL Bugis station structure is "substantially complete" and "structurally sound". As a safety measure, LTA engineers are checking similar scaffolding structures at all its worksites.

At 12.53pm, the body of the second worker was found fully submerged in wet cement, and pinned down by wooden planks and scaffolding. It was discovered 1m from the location of the first body.

Unfortunately, the second missing worker also died in the accident. Both deceased workers were from the People's Republic of China. 

Raffles Hospital said at 2.15pm that five of the eight workers have been discharged. Three patients were admitted for treatment of injuries in the chest, finger and back.  

At 1pm, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) says that all work will be ceased on-site, and investigations are currently on-going.

At 2.40pm, Building and Construction Authority revoked the construction permit for the Downtown Line Bugis station linkway site while further investigations are ongoing.

LTA says that all other workers of their contractor have been accounted for. They added that they will cooperate with MOM in the investigation into the cause of the accident, and exercise extra vigilance to prevent a similar occurance.

Similar scaffoldings structures at other DTL worksites have been checked and confirmed to be safe, says LTA. The incident is localised and poses no risk to surrounding developments and the public.

SBS Transit appointed Downtown Line operator

SINGAPORE: SBS Transit Limited has been appointed the new operator for Downtown Line, Singapore's fifth Mass Rapid Transit line.

When completed by 2017, the Downtown Line's 34 stations are expected to serve about half a million commuters daily.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) says the Downtown Line is the first rail line put up for competitive tender under the new rail financing framework LTA adopted in 2010.

Among other things, the licence period for the appointed operator is shorter - about 15 years, down from the existing 30 to 40 years.

And the LTA will own the rail operating assets and be responsible for timely replacements and enhancements.

In the case of the Downtown Line, the licence period is about 15 years from full completion in 2017, a few years after Downtown Line Stage One's targeted opening in 2013.

The LTA says the shorter duration will encourage efficiency through competition, as other operators may bid at the end of the licence term.

The appointed Downtown Line operator, SBS Transit Limited, will pay an annual licence charge over a 19-year licence period.

This payment is expected to reach an estimated total of S$1.6 billion at the end of the 19 years.

The payment will be placed in a Railway Sinking Fund to be managed by LTA to meet future expenditures on operating assets.

The LTA says the two local public transport operators, SBS Transit Limited and SMRT Trains Limited, both submitted competitive proposals to operate the Downtown Line.

It says SBS Transit Limited was picked after careful consideration.

SBS Transit is about 75 percent-owned by Singapore's biggest bus and taxi operator, ComfortDelGro.

The Downtown Line project was announced in 2005. It was later described as a major challenge.

LTA's project engineer, Darren Lau, had said: "The Downtown Line is currently one of the most challenging rail projects in Singapore, as it passes through varied soil conditions along the stretch. In certain areas like Bukit Timah, we even had to resort to using explosives to break up the granite rocks."

The Downtown Line was initially a five-station extension to the Circle Line. Known as Downtown Extension - running between Millenia Station and ending at Chinatown Station on the North East Line - it was expected to cost some S$1.4 billion and be completed by 2012.

But in 2007, the government approved S$12 billion worth of plans to add more than 40 kilometres to the existing mass rapid system.

The aim is to raise the number of those commuting by public transport to 70 per cent by 2020.

The Downtown Line will now have 34 stations in all - constructed over three phases.

Stage One involved the stations of the original Downtown Extension, running 4.3 kilometres from Chinatown to Bugis.

Work on Stage Two started in 2009, covering 12 underground stations over 16.6 kilometres.

When completed in 2015, Downtown Line 2 will run from Bukit Panjang, along the Bukit Timah Corridor and terminate at Rochor Station, where passengers can connect at Bugis.

The final 21-kilometre stretch of Downtown Line 3 will link the Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre in the east to Bukit Panjang, with a loop through Marina Bay.




Personal View: This will more or less cause a upswing for the stock ComfortDelGro, do keep a lookout for it.