A 64-year-old man has died on Friday, November 29, after falling onto the tracks at Fajar LRT station on the evening of November 19.
SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said the incident occurred at around 9.35 pm, when the passenger, who was using a personal mobility device (PMD), toppled onto the tracks along the Bukit Panjang LRT Line.
According to Lam, the staff at the station immediately contacted the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and lodged a police report. The rail operator’s operations control centre also cut off traction power as a precaution, ensuring that no incoming train struck the man.
The police confirmed that they were alerted at the same time and found the man lying motionless on the tracks when officers arrived. He was rushed to Woodlands Health Campus by the SCDF but later he succumbed to his injuries. Preliminary investigations do not indicate foul play, police added, though inquiries are still ongoing.
The accident comes less than a month after a separate case on October 27, when a drunk commuter fell onto the tracks at Bangkit LRT station. In that incident, SMRT staff activated the emergency stop plunger to cut power to the station. Both Bangkit and Fajar stations are part of the Bukit Panjang LRT network.
LRT stations are equipped with fixed platform barriers, with openings that allow passengers to board and alight. Safety systems at these stations also include an artificial intelligence-based video analytics tool introduced in 2023 to detect potential hazards. Unlike MRT stations, however, LRT platforms are not fitted with full-height screen doors.
In February, then-Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat had explained in Parliament that installing such doors at LRT stations would not be feasible due to space constraints and the additional power and signalling infrastructure required.
