Thomson-East Coast Line disruptions took place on 27 Dec, 29 Dec & 2 Jan
Three disruptions recently took place on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), Singapore’s newest MRT line, said transport operator SMRT.
While they occurred within one week, they were unrelated to one another, it added in a Facebook post on Friday (3 Jan).
27 Dec disruption was due to signalling fault
The first incident took place on 27 Dec. SMRT posted at the time that it started at 6.30am and caused “intermittent stoppages” and additional travel time of up to 15 minutes.
This affected the entire line from Woodlands North to Bayshore stations in both directions.
Normal service resumed at 9.06am, after more than 2.5 hours.
The disruption was caused by a signalling fault that interfered with communication between the signalling system and the trains, SMRT said, adding:
As a result, multiple trains received stop commands and had to be manually driven at 18 kph after system resets.
29 Dec disruption was due to train’s brake faults
The second incident, on 29 Dec, lasted about 8 minutes between 9.53pm and 10.01pm.
It caused trains to move slower in the direction from Bayshore towards Woodlands North, with an additional travelling time of 15 mins.
The disruption was caused by a train that experienced “intermittent brake faults” as it left a station, SMRT said, adding:
In line with safety protocols, the train was manually operated at 18 kph. The fault cleared automatically, allowing regular train services to resume shortly after.
There was a possible component fault within the train, preliminary findings suggested.
2 Jan disruption was due to emergency brake system being triggered
The third incident was on 2 Jan and lasted less than 30 minutes from 7.38pm to 8pm.
Commuters were told to expect an additional 10 mins of travelling time from Caldecott to Gardens by the Bay stations.
The disruption was caused by a train that “triggered the emergency brake system as it approached Orchard station, requiring manual operation”, SMRT said.
Investigations into the root cause of this incident are ongoing, it added.
SMRT, LRT & ALSTOM working together in probe
Despite these incidents, train services continued operating in both directions, albeit with longer travelling times, SMRT said.
The additional travel time was from 10 to 15 minutes, it noted.
A probe is underway to find out the root causes of each incident, SMRT added, with engineers from SMRT, the Land Transport Authority and French train maker ALSTOM working together.
TEL stage 4 opened in June 2024
TEL, Singapore’s sixth MRT line, opened in stages over the last five years.
The first stage, comprising three stations in Woodlands, opened in 2019 while the most recent stretch to open was the fourth stage from Tanjong Rhu to Bayshore.
TEL4 opened in June last year to much fanfare, with commuters enjoying increased accessibility to the East Coast region.
Also read: Train Services Disrupted On Thomson-East Coast Line During Peak Hour, Resume After Almost 3 Hours
Train Services Disrupted On Thomson-East Coast Line During Peak Hour, Resume After Almost 3 Hours
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Featured image from MS News.
