SINGAPORE – In the wee hours every day, a yellow robot-like machine the size of a train cabin whirs steadily as it clamps rails together and fuses them in an open yard at Ulu Pandan Depot near Bukit Batok.
The flash butt welding machine can clamp down on and weld – or join – rail ends together to complete a rail replacement operation within 15 minutes –
more than two times faster than manual welding,
which takes 40 minutes.
Rails need to be changed whenever there are flaws on the tracks caused by the movements of the trains or braking, as well as natural wear and tear over time.
The machine – acquired by rail operator SMRT for more than $1 million in February – is now being used to weld together five to six pairs of 18m rails each night at Ulu Pandan Depot, before they are transported to sites that require rail changes.
It will be used to replace tracks on the North-South and East-West lines (NSEWL), Singapore’s oldest lines, which have been in operation for 37 years and have the highest demand for rail changes among those operated by SMRT.
The Thomson-East Coast and Circle lines, which SMRT also runs, do not require such extensive rail changes as they are newer, added the operator.
Rail maintenance has been in the spotlight following a spate of at least 15 disruptions from July to September.
