SINGAPORE – In the dead of night when most people were asleep, work was being done to install essential equipment ahead of schedule at Potong Pasir MRT station.
The job was to replace a rectifier transformer, which had been in use for 22 years. The device steps down the voltage to the right level, and converts alternating current (AC), from the electrical supply, to direct current (DC), which is used by the trains.
Another rectifier transformer had been replaced the week before.
The replacement required coordination among 50 people – engineers, technicians and contractors – working over three days to install the massive equipment, which weighed 14 tonnes and measured 3m by 3m by 2.7m.
Potong Pasir station, operated by SBS Transit, is the first station on the 22km-long North East Line (NEL) to have its rectifier transformers replaced. These have a shelf life of 25 to 30 years.
Potong Pasir station is the first one on the 22km-long NEL to have its rectifier transformers replaced. They step down the voltage to the right level, and convert AC, from the electrical supply, to DC, which is used by the trains.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Working after train service ended on Oct 25, workers first unbolted and loaded the ageing transformer onto a service wagon heading back to a train depot.
On Oct 26, a newly tested rectifier transformer was carefully loaded and rolled to its new home.
On Oct 26, a newly tested rectifier transformer was carefully loaded and rolled to its new home.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
In the final stage, 12 hours after the transformer had been bolted to the ground, it was tested before commissioning it for operation.
