A commuter heading to work via the Circle Line on Monday (23 Dec) has complained that he faced additional travel time due to a “door issue” at HarbourFront MRT station.
Mr Benjamin Cheh, a 41-year-old senior graphic designer, told MS News that he was met by large crowds when he entered the station at 8am.
Photo courtesy of Benjamin Cheh
Mr Cheh usually starts his journey to work from HarbourFront, he said.
He claimed he encountered congestion caused by an “MRT breakdown” where only one door was functional and had to be manually opened.
As this was happening, more people were entering the stations and it became “too crowded”, he said, adding that staff should have stopped people from coming in.
He also added:
Not sure how is the crowd control at HB (HarbourFront), I think it’s bad.
Source: Google Maps
Due to the large influx, Mr Cheh decided to take a bus to Telok Blangah station, which is one stop away.
However, he claimed the same issue occurred there and he was “stuck for a while”, but it was resolved more quickly.
He finally got on his way at 8.43am, he said.
But the delay caused him to have to rush to reach his workplace, which is near the Surbana Jurong Campus in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), leading him to proclaim:
What a day. Black Monday for MRT Circle Line.
Mr Cheh said he was frustrated by the experience, partly because the crowd control at Harbourfront could’ve been handled better.
He suggested that staff stop people from entering the station, advise them to take alternative routes or provide a free shuttle bus.
As it happened, no bus shuttle was provided, “only announcement”, he claimed.
He also alleged that station staff told him that his commute, which normally took one hour, would take an additional 20 minutes.
MS News has reached out to SMRT for more information on Mr Cheh’s experience.
Incidentally, a disruption occurred on the Circle Line about four hours later on the same day.
In a Facebook post, SMRT said at 12.46pm that commuters could expect an additional travelling time of 15 mins between Botanic Gardens and Paya Lebar stations due to a signalling fault.
Source: SMRT on Facebook
Free regular bus services were available between the stations.
Train service returned to normal at 1.19pm, SMRT later updated.
In a separate Facebook post at 1.50pm, SMRT said the signalling fault occurred between Bartley and Lorong Chuan stations.
It was resolved by engineers more than one hour later, according to SMRT, which added:
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to your commute.
Also read: MRT train stalls at Tai Seng station, causes Circle Line disruption of close to 1 hour
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image courtesy of Benjamin Cheh and adapted from Google Maps.
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