6 major MRT disruptions in Singapore’s history
Singapore is currently experiencing one of its most significant MRT breakdowns in years with the ongoing situation on the East-West Line (EWL).
The disruption began on Wednesday (25 Sept), when an East-bound train developed a fault near Clementi station at around 9am.
Passengers were asked to disembark, after which the train — which had been in service for 35 years — made its way to Ulu Pandan depot for repairs.
En route, the train caused damage to the tracks, including the running rails and the third rail that supplies power to the train.
This led to a power trip, stalling another train near Clementi station. Commuters onboard had to be “safely detrained” onto the tracks.
Since then, SMRT staff have been working tirelessly, day and night, to restore services by 30 Sept, six days after the initial service interruption.
Source: Land Transport Authority on Facebook
That said, the last time Singapore faced a similar breakdown of such scale was back in 2017. It had involved a flooded tunnel and a train collision that left passengers injured.
These are the six times where commuters here have experienced public transport disruptions.
1. Two MRT trains collide on the East-West line in 2017
On 15 Nov 2017, 29 passengers were injured after two trains collided at Joo Koon station. The incident occurred during the morning rush hour.
At around 8.18am, the first train had stalled at the station due to an anomaly in the signalling system.
Shortly after, a second train carrying more than 500 passengers arrived. It initially stopped at the correct distance behind the first train.
However, due to a software glitch that misinterpreted the first train’s length, the second train moved forward abruptly and collided with the stalled train.
2. Flooded tunnels on the North-South line in 2017
About a month prior to the Joo Koon collision in 2017, the North South line (NSL) faced its own problems.
On 7 Oct 2017, train services along 13 stations were disrupted for several hours due to water in the tunnels between Bishan and Braddell stations.
The Straits Times (ST) reported that the water went up to more than 30cm.
Source: Yahoo! News Singapore
Train services between Newton and Marina South Pier were restored at 9.22pm, four hours after SMRT’s first alert.
Meanwhile, repair works between Ang Mo Kio and Newton stretched into the next day.
3. Two MRT lines simultaneously break down in 2015
On 7 July 2015, commuters on the NSL and EWL during the evening rush hour were affected after both lines were disrupted at the same time.
TODAY reported that this was the first time services on both lines were affected simultaneously.
Commuters reported “chaos” at MRT stations and “flickering lights” in the trains.
A power fault at 7.15pm caused a system-wide shutdown, with investigations later revealing that a faulty train led to a power surge.
“The power surge caused the protective relays across the entire North South East West Lines network to be activated, leading to a shut-down of power across the two lines,” said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a statement.
Partial service resumed on the EWL at 9.20pm, while services on the NSL resumed at 10.35pm.
4. 10-hour breakdown on North-East line in 2012
On 15 March 2012, 90,000 commuters on the North East line (NEL) were affected by a disruption that lasted more than 10 hours.
Two broken overhead steel cables had caused the disruption, with repair works having taken longer than expected.
Train services resumed at 4.35pm.
5. SMRT fined after series of breakdowns in Dec 2011
In December 2011, trains on the NSL and Circle line broke down three times in four days.
The incidents occurred between 14 Dec and 17 Dec.
The first breakdown on 14 Dec affected around 1,400 passengers on the Circle line from 6am.
Meanwhile, a major disruption occurred on the NSL the next day — this time during the evening rush hour.
Commuters were left in darkness and had to break the train windows after being stranded in the cabins for about an hour.
Source: Reddit
ST reported that 11 stations from Marina Bay to Bishan were affected.
While some stations resumed services at 9pm, others did not open throughout the night.
On 17 Dec, 94,000 commuters were affected by another breakdown on the NSL that started at 6.50am and lasted for seven hours.
Two faulty sections of the track near Orchard station caused as many as seven trains to stall.
As such, 12 stations from Marina Bay to Ang Mo Kio could not provide services, and trains had to be towed out of the tunnels.
The series of incidents prompted then-Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong to order an inquiry into the cases.
It was concluded that SMRT’s maintenance lapses had caused the two major breakdowns, and the operator was fined S$2 million.
6. Seven-hour disruption on the East-West line in 2008
In Jan 2008, human error caused a disruption on the EWL.
SMRT workers had failed to engage the parking brakes of a maintenance train. As such, it had crashed into its locomotive.
TODAY reported that the incident occurred on 21 Jan 2008 and disrupted services between Pasir Ris and Tanah Merah stations.
According to SMRT, the first East-bound train departing Tanah Merah MRT at 5.16am was affected.
The error affected about 57,000 commuters and services resumed after seven hours.
Singapore’s public transport remains reliable
Despite these high-profile cases, it’s important to note that major disruptions are relatively rare.
Experts say the island’s rail system is significantly more reliable now than in the past.
“We do know the system is more than 10 times as reliable as it was in the mid-2010s,” said Singapore University of Social Sciences Associate Professor Walter Theseira to ST in 2023.
Source: Jeraldine Pheanh
Statistics show that in 2022, there were seven disruptions lasting more than 30 minutes.
While this was more than in 2021, when it comes to overall rail reliability, Singapore’s rail system remains among the most reliable globally.
Prof Theseira also noted that the glitches in 2022 occurred across different MRT lines and therefore “do not suggest yet that there are systemic reliability issues… which were the problem plaguing our MRT in the past”.
As for the most recent major breakdown, it has also been deemed a rare occurrence.
Electrical engineering expert Teo Chor Kok told ChannelNews Asia (CNA) that it’s uncommon for axle boxes on trains to drop off.
This component had fallen off the faulty train earlier this week, causing the disruption.
Mr Jumadi Husani, the chief specialist for rail operations at Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority, also said that the axle box doesn’t typically come off during normal operations.
As investigations are still ongoing, Mr Jumadi noted that he can only give a guess as to what had happened:
“I can only assume that with the momentum of the train, the bogie that came off would have been dragged along the track, which caused the damage.”
Also read: Taxi drivers offer free rides to PSLE candidates at affected EWL stations
Taxi drivers offer free rides to PSLE candidates at affected EWL stations
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Featured image adapted from Land Transport Authority on Facebook and by MS News for illustration purposes only.
