http://ride.asiaone.com/news/transport/story/small-fire-causing-mrt-delay-north-south-line
They said that the cable had short-circuited, setting off a small fire which was initially put out by a station staff with a fire extinguisher.
However, the fire re-ignited and smoke filled the station platform around 9am.
Commuters were evacuted and northbound train services Marina Bay and Toa Payoh were halted until 11.20am.
SMRT statement on localised small fire at Newton-Novena tunnel:
We have investigated and found that the cause of the localised fire came from an electrical cable located on the northbound tunnel five metres from Newton station. The cable short-circuited, setting off a small fire which was initially put out by one of our station staff with a fire extinguisher.
It re-ignited, and smoke emanating from the tunnel got onto the station platform. Commuters were thus told to evacuate the station. There were no injuries.
Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force subsequently helped to put out the fire with fire extinguishers and a small quantity of foam.
"At the time of the incident, safety was topmost on our mind, so we took all the necessary precautions. This included shutting down part of the line even though the fire was localised at only one point. We only proceeded to resume service after we had established that the system was completely safe for operations," said Mr Khoo Hean Siang, SMRT's Executive Vice President for Trains.
"Our technicians have isolated the faulty cable, and will be replacing it after train service hours tonight. As an added precaution all underground traction cables will be checked again for their serviceability over the next few days."
These traction cables are routinely checked for their insulation resistance every six months, and this particular group of cables were last checked on Dec 20, 2012. The readings were found to be normal then. Preliminary investigations suggest that the fire was caused by a short circuit, possibly due to cable insulation issues. We will be conducting more thorough investigations by sending the affected cable for laboratory tests, and work with the Land Transport Authority on the necessary rectifications.
The fire caused a disruption on northbound train services between Newton and Toa Payoh stations from 9.05am. As a safety precaution, and to allow access to the tracks by Singapore Civil Defence Force officers and our technicians, traction power between Marina Bay and Toa Payoh stations were turned off. As such, northbound train services between Marina Bay and Toa Payoh were halted from 10.05am. Normal train service resumed at 11.20am.
During this period, free bus bridging services were activated between Marina Bay and Toa Payoh stations.
We apologise for the alarm and inconvenience caused, and thank our passengers for their understanding.
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