Singapore, 22 March 2019

Joint LTA-SMRT Media Release: Public Transport Emergency Preparedness Exercise at Jurong East MRT station

1. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT will carry out Exercise Station Guard, an emergency preparedness exercise on Friday, 5 April 2019, 10.00am to 4.00pm at Jurong East MRT station (North-South and East-West Lines).

2. During the exercise, all MRT commuters entering the station will be directed towards the fare gates on the concourse level after Exit A to undergo security screening. Some commuters may be asked to walk through a metal detector and their belongings will be scanned by X-ray machines, during which LTA will also trial the effectiveness of new security equipment.

3. Commuters should factor in additional travel time for the security screening. They should also avoid bringing bulky items, as these may require more time for screening.

4. LTA, together with our public transport operators, have been conducting Exercise Station Guard since February 2018 to validate our security measures, contingency plans and operational readiness at public transport nodes during heightened security situations. Similar exercises were previously conducted at Newton MRT station (Downtown Line), Holland Village station (Circle Line) and Hougang station (North East Line).

5. Exercise Station Guard is part of the national SGSecure movement to strengthen security in public places and build resilience in the community against security threats. Beyond ensuring operational readiness, Exercise Station Guard also serves to raise public awareness of the security threats which Singapore faces and familiarise commuters with how they should respond in the event of an emergency on the public transport network.

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