SMRT & LTA staff working round the clock to restore EWL train services

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Two of the three damaged point machines have been successfully replaced.

By Tas Angullia - 27 Sep 2024, 6:35 pm

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Staff from SMRT & LTA working hard to get EWL back up & running

Following the disruptions on the East-West Line (EWL) on Wednesday (25 Sept), SMRT and the Land Transport Authorithy (LTA) have been working round the clock to restore train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista.

In a recent Facebook post, LTA shared photos of the teams dedicated to getting services back up and running.

Source: LTA on Facebook

Many members of the public have also spotted the repair teams in action, with numerous individuals expressing their gratitude for their hard work.

Day 3 of repairs at Ulu Pandan Depot Rails
byu/dlumz insingapore

On Friday (27 Sept), Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat visited Ulu Pandan Depot, where he met with hundreds of engineers and technicians diligently working on the damaged tracks and equipment.

Source: Chee Hong Tat on Facebook

Mr Chee noted that this was a “challenging task”, as workers were tasked with replacing more than 30 rail segments, each weighing over 1 tonne.

Additionally, they needed to repair the third rail and power cables that supply electricity to the trains, as well as the point machines, which require careful calibration and alignment.

Use of mechanical jigs to repair broken rails

LTA previously announced that inspections on Thursday (26 Sept) had revealed 34 rail breaks along a 1.6km stretch of track.

As a result, engineers have had to use mechanical jigs to manually replace the damaged rails instead of relying on engineering vehicles, as noted in LTA’s update.