SINGAPORE: A train collided with another stationery train at a station in Singapore injuring at least 28 people, the first such incident in the country's transport system in 24 years.
Terming it as the first major incident involving the new signalling system, Singapore's Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan apologised to commuters, saying "Commuters were in- convenienced and some were even injured. So we are deeply sorry".
A total of 517 passengers were travelling in the train which was moving at the speed of 16km/hour when it collided with a stationary train at Joo Koon MRT station, the operator of Singapore MRT (SMRT) said in a joint press conference with the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
The "inadvertent" disabling of a software protection feature has been identified by the authorities as the reason for an SMRT train hitting another, stalled train at Joo Koon station on the western most area of Singapore.
"At 8.19am, a second train stopped behind the first faulty train. At 8.20am, the second train moved forward unexpectedly, and came into contact with the first train," the LTA and the SMRT said.
LTA's Deputy Chief Executive of Infrastructure and Development, Chua Chong Kheng said most of the injured commuters were treated for injuries such as knocks, falls and bruises.
The last time that an MRT train collision happened in Singapore was more than two decades ago, according to a report by the Channel News Asia today.
That incident, a front-to-back collision between two trains at Clementi station on August 5, 1993, resulted in 156 injured commuters.