Fewer NEL trains during morning peak hours after recent repair works, normal service resuming next week

Fewer NEL trains have been running as precautionary measure: SBS Transit

Frequent commuters on the North East Line (NEL) have had their suspicions proven to be correct — fewer trains have been running during the morning peak hours recently.

This was confirmed by public transport operator SBS Transit on Friday (29 Aug) in response to queries from The Straits Times (ST).

5 fewer NEL trains running in recent weeks

Specifically, 35 trains have been in operation along the NEL during the morning peak hours over the last few weeks, said Mrs Grace Wu, a spokesperson for SBS Transit.

This is five fewer than the regular number of 40.

Normal service will resume “some time next week”, she added.

Fewer trains after NEL repair works

The reduced deployment is a precautionary measure by SBS Transit, and follows power supply repair works carried out earlier this month on the NEL.

Fewer trains will “ensure stable power supply” and allow the transport operator to monitor the system more closely, Mrs Wu explained.

SBS seeks commuters’ patience and understanding during this temporary adjustment.

Repairs come after NEL disruptions on 12 &15 Aug

The power supply repair works followed two disruptions on the NEL on 12 and 15 Aug.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SBS Transit said on 16 Aug that the 12 Aug breakdown was caused by a rare “double fault” scenario, while the one on 15 Aug was due to a power cable fault.

They added that a secondary power supply source, direct from the SP Power Grid, will be implemented at Sengkang Depot by the fourth quarter of this year as part of the substation’s expansion works.

Further upgrades to the NEL and SPLRT power supply are also in the pipeline.

Commuters say NEL became more crowded in the morning

However, NEL commuters started complaining that the line had started to become more crowded in the morning, with trains from Punggol reportedly full upon arrival.

A netizen even said that the crowd size was abnormal even for peak hours.

On Wednesday (27 Aug), transport blog From The Red Line claimed in a post on Threads that the NEL had “cut service by 10%”, with a detailed log of NEL train frequencies contributed by trainspotters published the next day.

Mrs Wu admitted that SBS had noticed more crowding at certain stations during this period.

But she said that commuters have been able to continue their journeys without “significant disruption”.

Also read: Netizens claim NEL trains are crowded during peak hours as everyone is waiting to alight at Serangoon 

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Featured image from MS News and adapted from Master-Quarter4762 on Reddit.