Engineering vehicle breakdown causes delays on 2 MRT lines during peak hours on 7 Feb

Engineering vehicle breakdown at Bishan Depot causes MRT delays during morning & evening peak hours

On Friday (7 Feb), train services on the North-South Line (NSL) and East-West Line (EWL) suffered delays during the morning and evening peak hours.

This was caused by an engineering vehicle breakdown at Bishan Depot that took more than 12 hours to resolve.

SMRT posts about train fault on 7 Feb morning

Train operator SMRT first posted about a “train fault” on Facebook at 5.52am, advising NSL commuters to add 20 minutes of travelling time if they were heading towards Jurong East from Ang Mo Kio onwards.

At 6.08am, the longer waiting time was cut to 10 minutes, with free regular bus services and bridging bus services available.

Commuters were also advised to take alternatives like the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) and Circle Line (CCL).

A video posted by MRT Singapore Service Information on Facebook at 6.58am showed commuters struggling to board the northbound train at Choa Chu Kang station, with the cabin too packed to enter.

MRT delays caused by engineering vehicle breakdown: SMRT

At 7.04am, SMRT said on Facebook that the delays were due to the breakdown of an engineering vehicle returning to Bishan Depot at 5.15am.

As this occurred at one of the crossings in the depot, it “prevented some trains that will serve the North-South Line this morning from leaving the depot”, SMRT said.

SMRT apologised for affecting the morning commute, saying engineers were on site to recover the faulty engineering vehicle.

Later that morning, MRT Singapore Service Information posted photos of a stationary locomotive at an MRT facility, speculating that it was the faulty vehicle.

EWL trains redirected to support the NSL

At 7.33am, SMRT advised commuters to expect waiting times of five minutes longer on the EWL too, as well as the NSL.

This was due to the engineering vehicle fault, it said.

SMRT explained at 7.55am that this was because trains had been redirected from the EWL to support the NSL.

MRT Singapore Service Information posted photos of two EWL trains running on the NSL between Yew Tee and Jurong East.

The delays lasted till 9.30am, when SMRT informed the public that train service on the NSL and EWL had returned to normal.

Engineering vehicle breakdown still blocking MRT trains from leaving depot

However, it was not out of the woods yet as of 2.05pm. SMRT said the engineering vehicle, which was carrying replacement rails, had derailed.

The wagon was “off track” and obstructing a “key crossing”, preventing trains from leaving Bishan Depot, SMRT added.

Staff and engineers were using a hydraulic jack to shift the wagon “inch by inch” onto another track.

It aimed to resolve the situation by that evening.

Delays expected during evening peak hour as well

Unfortunately, at 4.27pm SMRT announced that the evening peak hour would also be affected, with commuters advised to expect longer train intervals of about 3.5 minutes on the NSL and EWL.

This was compared with the normal two-minute intervals during peak hours.

At 5.15pm, SMRT updated that one end of a wagon was stuck on the crossing and blocking the track.

A heavy-lifting crane could not be used due to the tight space around the tracks, resulting in more time being needed given the complexity of the work.

Tracks cleared at 6.36pm

SMRT successfully launched trains from Bishan Depot at 6.36pm after the tracks were cleared, it said.

Nonetheless, SMRT said it will continue to investigate the cause of the vehicle failure.

SMRT also pointed out that the 7 Feb incident was “completely different” from the EWL incident last September, in which a train fault caused part of the line to be down for six days.

Non-peak hour services not affected

The track clearance meant that normal train services could resume on the NSL and EWL, more than 12 hours after the first delay started that morning.

SMRT noted that train services continued on both lines throughout the day, with non-peak hour services unaffected.

But peak-hour waiting times were “slightly longer” at 3.5 minutes instead of the usual 2 minutes, it said.

Normal weekend train services will resume on Saturday (8 Feb).

Also read: 3 Thomson-East Coast Line disruptions in 1 week were unrelated, investigations underway: SMRT

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Featured image adapted from @pt77200 on TikTok and MRT Singapore Service Information on Facebook.