Speech by Minister Khaw Boon Wan during Visit to Downtown Line Signalling Simulation Facility

Friends and colleagues, 

COVID-19 Outbreak

1.     Let me first commend our public transport and P2P operators for their robust response to the current COVID-19 outbreak.

2.     First, they monitor closely and they cooperate fully with the Ministry of Health in adopting the control measures, as one SG United. As CE LTA was talking to me on the way here, I think how Singapore responded to the outbreak, which is now almost global, distinguishes Singapore from the rest of the world. We monitor the situation; see how other countries are responding, the results and the outcome. If we press on like this, we should be able to come out of the crisis stronger. Despite a big hit on their business and earnings, public transport operators raised the level of cleanliness and implemented temperature taking for their drivers and staff to protect our commuters.

3.     Second, they matched the Government’s relief measures in the P2P Support Package to help their drivers tide over the crisis. As the outbreak evolves, taxi companies have gone further, to provide additional rental discounts to affected taxi drivers, on top of their earlier relief commitments. I think the key point is, we are all in it together – our drivers, our staff; they are part and parcel of one whole family. So when everyone suffers because of this external impact, I think we respond as one rather than start treating different factions, as what is happening in many other countries. 

4.     Beyond the operators, other organisations have also come forward to lend their support. For example, Temasek Foundation plans to distribute 100,000 bottles of sanitiser to our frontline transport workers in the coming weeks. MCCY, DSTA, LTA and other local industry are prototyping temperature self-check kiosks at public transport nodes and other public spaces as a potential way to encourage the public to check their temperature regularly. Because if they are everywhere, as you walk past, you can just do a self-check. As more Singaporeans come together in partnership and solidarity under the SG United banner, I am confident we can overcome the COVID-19 challenge ahead.

DTL Signalling Simulation Facility

5.     This morning, we are here to launch the Downtown Line signalling simulation facility. When we changed the signalling system of the North-South and East-West Lines, from fixed block to CBTC, we went through a lot! It was a painful process but we learnt a lot from that experience. First, we need to maintain tight oversight of the re-signalling project. Second, we have to develop our own deep technical understanding of the complex signalling system. This is an important strategic capability, and critical to ensuring a safe, reliable MRT system.

6.     It was from this re-signalling experience of North-South Line that we took a decision to invest in signalling simulation facilities for all our MRT lines.

7.     We started by establishing a dedicated signalling simulation facility for the North-South and East-West Lines at Bishan Depot in 2018, even while we were in midst of the re- signalling project. The facility is one of the largest of its kind in the world, and was immediately useful for the re-signalling project. It helped us stabilise the performance of the new signalling system sooner, by improving the robustness of software testing.

8.     This Downtown Line signalling simulation facility is our second.

9.     By 2023, the Government would have invested more than $100 million to establish local simulation facilities for all our MRT lines. The advantages of these investments are many.

10.    First, they will allow our engineers to rigorously test new signalling software under local conditions before it is put into service on any of our MRT lines. This includes testing software against cybersecurity threats.

11.    Second, we can use these facilities to train our engineers to better diagnose and rectify signalling faults.

12.    Third, through its investments in simulation facilities, LTA has gotten major system providers such as Thales, Siemens and Alstom to commit to establishing a long-term presence in Singapore. We believe this is a mutually beneficial arrangement, as these companies can in turn, use Singapore as a base to serve the region. For Singapore, such arrangements will further anchor world-class rail expertise here and provide good jobs for talented Singaporeans.

13.    And one such beneficiary from this arrangement is Abdul Hafiz of SBST. He joined SBST almost two years ago, after graduating from the Singapore Institute of Technology. To prepare for the opening of this facility, Abdul Hafiz and his fellow rail engineers went through months of in-depth training on Downtown Line signalling system, which was conducted by expert engineers that Siemens had specially flown in from overseas to establish the facility.

14.    The simulation facility basically creates a virtual twin of our rail system. Previously when we wanted to run new software, we only had two, three hours of engineering hours at night , so it took a long time. Because it took a long time, we had to accelerate and we needed to bring it in. We should have undertaken more tests than what we desired, but we could not. But with this virtual twin in a simulation facility, you can run the software through first, and you can do it 24 hours because you're disturbing no one. So revenue service is not affected. And with that, it can be used for training, for teaching new staff coming through, going through. Every time you want to test a new software because you want to expand the capabilities, run it through the simulator first. 

15.    While it is a lot of money - more than a hundred million dollars, in the scheme of things, we are investing billions in the entire MRT system so hundred million out of that many billions is a worthwhile investment. Therefore, we took the decision that every MRT line will have this simulation facility because electronics, signalling, digitalisation is the way to go for all transport sectors from aviation, land and so on. It reminded me of what Chairman LTA shared with me two, three years ago that all this while, our expertise was very much in civil engineering. But as technology changes, digitalisation goes into every sector, you need more electrical electronic engineers, systems engineers. We also make a strategic shift in our recruitment, as well as scholarship system. So that we have, in our midst, multiple expertise. That way, I think we can keep the system up-to-date and reliable, and at the end of the day, benefiting all commuters.

Conclusion

16.    With all our MRT lines now performing reliably at an MKBF of more than one million train-km, it is important that we position ourselves to sustain this level of reliability. Signalling simulation facilities are an important part of this effort.

17.    With the expansion of the Thomson-East Coast Line – stage one done, stage two soon, and very soon all the various stages, all the way to Bedok – and the further extensions to the existing Downtown Line, Circle Line and North East Line, all these simulation facilities will help ensure that the new stations, tracks and trains are smoothly integrated into the existing signalling network.

18.    I congratulate LTA, Siemens and SBST for the successful opening of this DTL signalling simulation facility! Thank you.