North-South, East-West MRT train lines to start at 10am on Sunday

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Train services on the North-South and East-West lines will start at 10am on Sunday, as Land Transport Authority and SMRT personnel carry out checks to the rail system, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew at a hastily called press conference on Saturday afternoon.

Between 5.30am and 10am, free parallel bus services will ply the rail lines at 10-minute intervals. The trains usually start running at around 5.30am. Circle and North-East lines will not be affected.

LTA and SMRT will carry out full visual inspections at the depots on Saturday night for all trains and inspect the tracks on Sunday.

The transport minister said a thorough health check was needed urgently as train services broke down for the third time in as many days.

MRT services on the North-South line have resumed after being disrupted on Saturday morning, two days after the worst breakdown in 24 years.

As of 1.48pm, SMRT said service on the whole North-South Line had resumed and it was gradually improving frequency.

Commuters travelling via the MRT on Saturday posted pictures and reports on social media sites, showing notices of service disruptions at various locations.

Passengers of one train were stranded on Saturday morning and had to walk through the underground tunnel to reach Somerset MRT station.

The train stalled at 7.24am. Passengers reached the station by foot at 7.33am. The train was travelling from Orchard to Somerset stations.

SMRT would not say how far the stranded train was from the station and how many passengers were on that train.

An earlier SMRT statement said passengers are advised to seek alternative transport or take bus bridging services provided between Ang Mo Kio and Raffles Place, and a shuttle between Marina Bay and City Hall.

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