Featured image adapted from images courtesy of Daryl Teo.
22-year-old Daryl Teo was watching a video on improving transit systems’ reliability when the North East Line (NEL) disruption occurred on Tuesday (12 Aug).
The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) student told MS News that he was taking the train towards Punggol Coast at the time.
Interestingly, Mr Teo said he was also thinking about a Reddit post claiming SBS Transit’s train services had been more reliable than those of SMRT.
Source: SBS Transit Ltd on Facebook
In a moment of cosmic irony, he suddenly heard a “bang” sound. The train then started slowing down, and half the lights and aircon system switched off.
“I immediately knew it was a breakdown,” said Mr Teo.
Mr Teo allegedly detected a metallic and acidic smoky smell, similar to that of something burning.
A train attendant then told passengers to move towards the front, away from the smell. He also communicated through his walkie-talkie.
Assuming it was an issue with his train, Mr Teo took to Reddit to share his experience. However, he soon learned that nearly the entire NEL had been disrupted.
Image by MS News
He told MS News that the passengers on board his train remained calm and were either on their phones or chatting with one another.
No one appeared mad or agitated.
After about 15 minutes, the train attendant evacuated the commuters onto the tracks, counting them as they left. Another SBS Transit staff member also assisted the elderly.
Image courtesy of Daryl Teo
Although he had to experience the inconvenience of his first MRT breakdown, the 22-year-old said the novelty of walking on the tracks more than made up for it.
“I liked looking at the infrastructure like the rails and overhead cables, [it] was really cool.”
Image courtesy of Daryl Teo
The passengers eventually made it to Punggol Coast station, where staff members apologised to them.
Image courtesy of Daryl Teo
At the station, Mr Teo saw another empty train stalled on the other platform. The station’s lights were half off, and the escalators and lifts were not functioning.
Outside, he spotted a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) fire truck and an ambulance.
The NEL train disruption began at around 11am, halting service between Farrer Park and Punggol Coast stations.
Service on the line resumed at about 2.10pm, but the Sengkang-Punggol LRT remained affected until 9.20pm.
Mr Jeffrey Sim, Group CEO of SBS Transit, stated that a power trip at the NEL depot’s substation caused the disruption.
“Our preliminary investigations revealed that there was a failure of the power switchboard,” he explained.
The failure caused a flashover in a voltage transformer that tripped both the main and backup power supply.
Source: Land Transport Authority on Facebook
SBS Transit thus bypassed the depot substation and drew power from their Dhoby Ghaut substation to restore service on the NEL.
Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SBS Transit engineers worked through the night to fully restore power to the affected substation.
“We will work closely with the LTA to prevent a recurrence of this incident. We apologise to all affected commuters for the inconvenience caused.” Mr Sim stated.
In response to MS News’s queries about the alleged burning smell, a SBS Transit spokesperson clarified that there was no fire on board the train or in the train tunnel.
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Featured image courtesy of Daryl Teo.