East-West Line service disrupted by power fault, expected to last through 25 Sept
Commuters on the East-West Line (EWL) faced major delays on Wednesday (25 Sept) due to a service disruption.
According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the disruption occurred when an eastbound MRT train developed a fault near Clementi station.
SMRT reported that the Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train, which had been in service for over 35 years, began emitting smoke.
Around 850 passengers were safely guided off the train and escorted back to Clementi MRT station before it was withdrawn to Ulu Pandan depot.
Source: SMRT on Facebook
At around 9.25am, a power trip was detected. Preliminary assessments suggest that the faulty train damaged both the running rails and the third rail, which supplies power to the trains.
As a result, all train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations came to a halt, affecting a total of nine stations in both directions.
Image courtesy of MS News reader
In response, SMRT deployed free regular and bridging bus services between Boon Lay and Queenstown, starting at 9.46am.
However, long queues and crowded buses were reported at several affected stations, including Lakeside and Clementi.
Image courtesy of Syrus Aw
Disruption to last through 25 Sept, possibly longer
“Due to the extent of the damage, train services will not be available on the EWL between Boon Lay and Queenstown MRT stations for at least the rest of the day, in both directions,” LTA stated.
Free regular and bridging bus services will continue to operate in the meantime.
Image courtesy of Clarence Tan
Starting at 5pm, SMRT will also introduce separate shuttle train services: one between Buona Vista and Queenstown stations, and another between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations, both running at 10-minute intervals.
“Commuters are strongly advised to use alternative transport arrangements to continue their journeys,” LTA added.
It also mentioned that SMRT and LTA will reassess the situation during engineering hours tonight to determine if service can resume on Thursday (26 Sept), but cautioned that “more time may be required for repair works”.
Also read: Lightning strike causes 2-hour MRT service disruption along North-South Line on 3 June
Lightning strike causes 2-hour MRT service disruption along North-South Line on 3 June
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Featured image adapted from SMRT on Facebook and courtesy of Syrus Aw.
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