More can be done to beef up safety at train stations: expert witness

Its day two of the lawsuit between the Thai girl who lost both legs in a train incident and transport operator SMRT and the Land Transport Authority. 

The plaintiff's expert witness said safety measures at the train stations here may have fulfilled the basic requirements, but they should not be taken as the norm. 

Professor Natarajan Krishnamurthy said more can be done to beef up safety precautions at train stations here. 

He took the stand this morning to explain the contents of his report that was submitted to the court. 

In his analysis, Professor Krishnamurthy included photographs of train stations around the world, including those in London, Japan and New York. 

He tabled the distances of the yellow lines from the tracks at the various stations and ranked those with Singapore. 

But lawyer for the defendants, Anparasan Kamachi took issue with the report, saying it's incorrect, given the many assumptions. 

Under Mr Anparasan's questioning, the witness acknowledged he extrapolated the distances of the yellow lines from the tracks, using the height of a passenger who is standing behind the line in the photo. 

When asked how he got the height of the passenger, the witness said he took an average of 1.7 metres for Asian men and 1.8 metres for Caucasians. 

Using computer technology, Professor Krishnamurthy then did the maths to get the various distances. 

He also admitted in court that there could be a difference in calculations of up to 10 per cent. 

Ms Pen-Eakchanasak Nitcharee had fallen onto the Ang Mo Kio train tracks on 3rd April last year when she was only 14 years old. 

She had been waiting behind the yellow line of the platform at about 11am when she fell and was run over by a South-bound train. 

At that time, the teenager was in Singapore to study the English language. 

The hearing continues.