Restoration of damaged EWL rails fully completed, safety tests to be conducted on 29 Sept: SMRT

Significant progress in the restoration of EWL rails made on 28 Sept: SMRT

On the fourth day of the East-West Line (EWL) train service disruption, “significant progress” was made to ensure the disruption doesn’t go beyond five days.

As of Saturday (28 Sept) night, restoration work on the damaged rails has been fully completed, SMRT said.

Restoration work involved replacement of EWL power rails

The good news was announced in a Facebook post by SMRT on Saturday night that gave the public an update on the progress made in ending the EWL disruption.

It said that three track point machines and associated trackside equipment had been successfully recovered, and functionality tests had been completed on them.

The power rails, which were also damaged, have also been replaced.

This means that restoration work is “fully completed”, SMRT added.

Teams worked round the clock in restoration of EWL rails

SMRT said the favourable weather on Saturday allowed workers to make “significant progress” in replacing the cracked rails.

An earlier Facebook post by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the significant progress included the completion of heavy rail delivery work.

SMRT and LTA work teams have been “working tirelessly around the clock” between Clementi and Dover stations to replace 1.6km of cracked rails.

These efforts will continue late into Saturday night, SMRT added.

Safety tests to take a whole day on 29 Sept

Even after repairs are finalised, SMRT will need one more day to conduct comprehensive system functional and safety tests.

These will include checks on the tracks, power supply, and train signalling.

Trains will also be run through the track at different speeds to ensure everything is operating smoothly.

This will take up the whole of Sunday (29 Sept), SMRT said.

SMRT had earlier said that it was aiming for full service restoration on Monday (30 Sept).

The transport operator appreciated the patience of members of the public during this period.

Free bus services & shuttle train service still available

Meanwhile, free regular and bridging bus services will still be available between Jurong East and Buona Vista in both directions on Sunday.

They will be complemented by a shuttle train service from Boon Lay to Jurong East, and from Buona Vista to Queenstown, which operates at 10-minute intervals.

A previously announced plan to operate a shuttle train service between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations was scrapped as it would risk delaying the restoration of full service.

The current disruption to the EWL, one of Singapore’s longest MRT breakdowns, started on Wednesday (25 Sept) morning when a defective train caused a power fault near Clementi station and extensive damage to the tracks.

Also read: The last major MRT breakdown was 7 years ago, here’s a look at past cases