MOT: Neglect of SOPs the cause of LRT train head-on collision

The Ministry of Transport has released the full report on the cause of the horrifying LRT crash that happened on 24-May. The conclusion was a miscommunication and the neglect of standard operating procedures by the driver and the Operations Control Centre (OCC) that led to a head-on collision between 2 trains.

According to Transport Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong, Train 40 started experiencing technical difficulties at around 6.42 pm. The train’s main Vehicle On-Board Communication (VOBC) system stopped working, forcing the standby VOBC to kick in instead.

In line with safety procedures, the Operations Control Centre (OCC) evacuated Train 40 and started the process of remotely returning the train to the Lembah Subang depot for maintenance.

Unfortunately, by 8.13 pm, Train 40’s standby VOBC also failed, causing the OCC to lose communication with the train entirely. As a fail-safe system, trains are programmed to come to a complete stop when their system experiences a time-out.

Hence Train 40 was caught between KLCC and Kampung Baru LRT stations at that time. Train operators were forced to call in a driver to manually reset both VOBCs and drive the train to the “re-enter” point near Dang Wangi LRT station (after Kampung Baru station).

The train was supposed to wait at the point while OCC attempts to return operations of Train 40 to Automated Train Operation (ATO) mode, so they could continue remotely driving the train back to Lembah Subang.

It was during this time while resetting both VOBCs and driving the train to the re-enter point where both the driver and OCC’s train controller had overlooked and missed critical procedures.

Instead of heading southbound towards the designated re-entry point at Dang Wangi station, the train moved towards KLCC.

At the same time, Train 81 that was carrying over 200 passengers on the same track was held back at the KLCC station.

The OCC implemented a protective Manual Route Reservation (MRR) to keep Train 81 stationary while the driver in Train 40 and the train controller work to resolve the on-board issue.

The MRR was reportedly lifted and Train 81 was prematurely allowed to depart the station heading towards the Kampung Baru station before Train 40 was safely reset and placed in ATO mode. This led to the collision between the 2 trains.

The incident on May 24 was the worst accident in Malaysia’s LRT history. 210 passengers were injured during the crash, 6 of which required treatments in the intensive care unit (ICU). As of 31 May 2021, 3 victims were still in ICU.

One of the victim’s family, a 52-year-old male who required spinal operations by 2 operation teams at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), even filed a lawsuit against Prasarana claiming RM 1.8 m worth of damages.