Circle Line hit by 25-minute breakdown between Paya Lebar & Buona Vista on 20 May
Commuters on the Circle Line were caught in a brief but chaotic morning rush hour breakdown on Tuesday (20 May), after a train fault crippled services between Botanic Gardens and Farrer Road stations.
The disruption began at around 8.26am, just as thousands were on their way to work, triggering massive crowds across multiple stations.
Free regular bus services were swiftly activated between Serangoon and Buona Vista to ease the fallout.
Thankfully, services were fully restored at 8.50am, only 25 minutes later.
SMRT says to expect 30-minute delay
In a Facebook update at 8.26am, SMRT alerted the public to a 30-minute delay between Paya Lebar and Buona Vista, citing a “train fault”.
The delay rippled through key parts of the network, causing interchange stations like Serangoon and Botanic Gardens to swell with commuters unable to board packed trains.
To ease the disruption, free regular bus services were activated between affected stations.
As expected, the breakdown led to massive crowds forming at key interchange stations.
Source: r/SMRTRabak on Reddit
Photos shared to r/SMRTRabak on Reddit showed commuters shoulder-to-shoulder, with one user commenting: “Serangoon is crowded as hell.”
Source: r/SMRTRabak on Reddit
Another Redditor lamented, “Can’t even get on any circle line train now, no train towards Buona side.”
Source: r/singapore on Reddit
Source: r/singapore on Reddit
Train services fully resumed after 25 minutes
By 8.41am, SMRT said in an update that services were “progressively resuming” and that free bus services would remain available in the meantime.
Just nine minutes later, at 8.50am, SMRT confirmed that full train services had resumed and that free buses had ceased operation.
In a follow-up post at 9.07am, they clarified that the fault had occurred between Botanic Gardens and Farrer Road, adding that ground staff were on-site to assist affected passengers.
“We apologise for affecting your morning peak commute and appreciate your understanding,” the post wrote.
Neizens praise SMRT for swift recovery
Despite the disruption, many netizens were quick to praise SMRT for the speedy recovery, noting that a 25-minute fix during peak hour was no small feat.
“Speed is important,” one Facebook user wrote.
Source: SMRT on Facebook
Others chose humour to cope. One cheeky commenter joked that the train system had been “overworked from ferrying fans” during Lady Gaga’s recent concert run in Singapore.
Source: SMRT on Facebook
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Featured image adapted from r/SMRTRabak on Reddit.
