EWL suffers 25-minute delay during morning peak hour on 6 Aug, resolved after 5 hours  

EWL suffers delay on 6 Aug morning due to point machine faults

Eastbound train services on the East-West Line (EWL) between Boon Lay and Buona Vista were disrupted for more than five hours on Tuesday (5 Aug) morning due to a point machine fault.

The first alert from SMRT was posted at 6.03am, warning of an additional 15 minutes of travel time. But as the morning went on, updates indicated delays of up to 25 minutes, with free bus and bridging services activated.

Train service resumed between Boon Lay & Buona Vista after 5 hours

According to the first official update at 6.03am, the fault was located between Boon Lay and Clementi. Engineers were deployed and began recovery work soon after.

However, even by 10.35am — over four hours later — SMRT was still advising commuters to factor in an additional 25 minutes of travel time.

At 11.05am, about five hours from the first update, SMRT shared that train services between the EWL stations had resumed.

In a follow-up post, SMRT said they had detected a point machine fault near Jurong East station at the start of service.

SMRT explained that point machines help control train movement at rail junctions when trains switch tracks.

Upon detecting the fault, trains travelled at a lower speed of 18km/hour.

Commuters alleged delay of up to 30 minutes on EWL

While SMRT posted regular updates regarding the delay, passengers disputed the timeliness and effectiveness of its response.

One commuter claimed that the train they were on was not moving at all, even though in-carriage announcements said that trains “will move at a slower pace”.

Other commuters claimed they faced delays of 30 minutes or more, at least twice as long as the 15-minute delays that SMRT initially warned about.

Meanwhile, another user challenged SMRT’s claim that westbound services from Pasir Ris to Tuas Link were unaffected.

“Please check and update the status so that we can inform our office,” the commuter wrote.

In its Facebook updates, SMRT stated that free regular and bridging buses were available between Boon Lay and Buona Vista, and encouraged commuters to seek alternative routes via the North-South Line or Circle Line.

It also directed affected commuters to download e-travel chits — digital proof of disruption to show employers.

But even this drew criticism, with commuters complaining that the link was not working.

Also read: Bukit Panjang LRT hit by 2nd disruption in July, services restored after almost 1.5 hours

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.

Featured image adapted from Particular-Gas12 on Reddit and SMRT on Facebook.