Accident on the Northeast Line

How many of you take notice of the gap between the train and the platform every time you board or leave the train? How many of you  think that it is impossible to fall into it? It might seem harmless but after you read this article, you will realise that you need to be mindful of the gap every single time you cross it.

On the 11th March 2015, the people taking the Northeast line experienced a delay in service due to an unfortunate incident where a teenage girl in a beige uniform, slipped and whose leg was trapped in a 10cm gap between the train and platform at Hougang MRT station at around 7.50am. She was sitting on the platform of the train station, with her left leg in the gap.  The teen was dislodged by members of the public and was freed before the ambulance and fire engine arrived. She was sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Another witness said that the teen did not seem to be badly injured but had bruises on her legs. The train was held back at the station due to this incident. You might ask why must there be a gap? If there wasn’t a gap, then accidents would not have occurred. The 10cm gap is necessary to accommodate the movement of a train as it approaches. Without it, the train may come into contact with the edge of the platform. So, doesn’t that mean that as the users of the MRT, we should be the ones to look out for our own safety because when something happens, it will not only affect us, but it would also affect others badly? Although this might be an accident, now you know it is actually possible to fall into a gap like this. It might not happen to you now, but when it does, you might regret and wonder why you had not looked out for it in the first place. Hopefully now you will start to take notice of the gap whenever you board the train and look out for your own safety wherever you go.

-Renee Ong