Consecutive train disruptions hit Thomson-East Coast Line and East-West Line within hours
Commuters were hit by consecutive train disruptions on Tuesday night (16 Sept) and Wednesday morning (17 Sept), as both the East-West Line (EWL) and Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) suffered major faults within hours of each other.
TEL down during morning rush hour
At 7.29am on Wed (17 Sept), SMRT announced that a signal fault had caused delays of up to 15 minutes along the TEL between Woodlands North and Bayshore stations.
Free regular and bridging buses were activated at 7.55am, with commuters “encouraged to take alternative lines to their destination”.
By 8.29am, train services along the stretch were fully suspended to facilitate recovery works.
Station staff guided affected passengers to bus boarding points, while SMRT also provided an e-Travel Chit for those whose trips were disrupted.
Train services resumed progressively from 8.38am, and by 8.54am, SMRT confirmed that the line was back to normal.
EWL disruption the night before
The TEL breakdown came less than 10 hours after a fault hit the EWL late on Tuesday (16 Sept) night.
At about 11pm, a fault in the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system caused a signalling failure, leading to a disruption in train services between Aljunied and Tanah Merah stations.
Free regular bus services and bridging bus services were provided, and announcements were made both in trains and at stations to keep commuters informed.
Engineers were deployed on-site, and the issue was rectified overnight.
Train services resumed normal operation the next morning (17 Sept) at 4.30am.
Netizens inconvenienced by peak-hour disruption
The consecutive disruptions left many frustrated, especially those caught in the TEL morning rush.
One commuter complained that the morning delays were “definitely more than 15 minutes”.
Source: Facebook
Another shared that they were stuck on the train for more than an hour.
Source: Facebook
A Facebook user even pleaded for special consideration for secondary school students taking their oral exams that morning.
Source: Facebook
Woon Yee Wern, 23, a dental assistant who was at Woodlands MRT station this morning, told MS News:
The signboard here gives the impression that you can still tap in but will have to wait very long. But actually, they were turning people away, and the gantries didn’t let people in from the outside.
SMRT apologises for back-to-back breakdowns
Mr Lam Sheau Kai, President of SMRT Trains, apologised for the back-to-back incidents, acknowledging the inconvenience caused to commuters.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday at 9am, Mr Lam apologised for the TEL disruption, saying: “We apologise for the disruption to your morning journey and thank you for your patience and understanding.”
In an earlier update at 4.35am, he also apologised to commuters affected by the EWL incident.
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Featured image adapted from @Waikuku3 on Reddit & SMRT on Facebook.
