Full NEL train services resume after morning rush hour delays
SBS Transit fully restored train services on the North East Line (NEL) on Feb 10 after morning rush hour delays.
This morning, commuters faced delays of up to 30 minutes due to a signalling fault at Buangkok MRT station.
Full train service restored after rush hour delays
In a social media update at 8.45am, train operator SBS Transit announced that NEL had resumed full regular service and that both free regular and bridging bus services had ended.
In its initial social media post at 6.23am, SBS Transit advised commuters to anticipate an extra 10 minutes of travel time, later revising it to 15 minutes.
At 7.11am, SBS Transit updated the delay to 20 minutes, and by 7.43am, they extended it further to 30 minutes.
SBS Transit stated that free regular bus services were provided at Serangoon, Hougang, and Sengkang bus interchanges, while free bridging bus services operated at bus stops near affected stations between Dhoby Ghaut and Punggol Coast.
Delays leads double commute time
IT engineer Vincent Lim shared with The Straits Times (ST) that he boarded the train at Punggol station at 6am but did not reach HarbourFront station until 7.35am.
“The journey typically takes about 45 minutes but it took me one and a half hour today,” said the 49-year-old, who starts work at 7am.
The delay felt like an hour and not 15 minutes.
Mr Lim expressed hope that stations would provide more information about the bridging buses for commuters.
“People like me who solely depend on MRT to travel to work will not have an idea where the shuttle buses bring me to. Does it stop at HarbourFront station or somewhere else?” Mr Lim added.
Mr Mohamad Farish, a student at ITE East, told ST that he encountered the delay while travelling from Serangoon station to Punggol station.
“My journey was supposed to take 15 minutes but it took me nearly an hour today,” said the 18-year-old, who had to take a bus from Punggol to reach his school in Simei.
“My classes were supposed to start at 8am but I only arrived at 9am. Thankfully, my lecturers were quite understanding after I told them what happened.”
Also read: Engineering vehicle breakdown causes delays on 2 MRT lines during peak hours on 7 Feb
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps & 8world News on Facebook.
