Power trip and fire caused Bukit Panjang LRT train service shutdown: SMRT

SINGAPORE - A power trip and a fire caused the entire Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) to be shut down on Monday evening, SMRT said in a statement on Monday night.

"SMRT is working to recover BPLRT services on Tuesday morning (Mar 10)," said Mr Lee Ling Wee, managing director, SMRT Trains.

At about 5.30pm, a power trip between Pending station and Jelapang Station caused train services to be disrupted on the entire line, he explained in the statement.

Commuters on a stalled train between Pending and Petir stations were taken to Pending station.

As SMRT engineers worked to resume service, the fire alarm at Senja station - in a separate incident - went off at about 5.45pm.

Smoke was reportedly seen in the station's plant room. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was immediately activated.

SCDF said the fire involved a circuit breaker inside the electrical room of Senja Station. It was extinguished and no one was injured, but the power tie-breakers at Senja station were damaged.

At about 7pm, SMRT informed commuters that BPLRT train service would not resume for the evening, and that free bus and bus bridging services will continue.

Thirty buses were deployed for bus bridging services.

Plans are also being made for more buses and additional staff to be on the ground to assist commuters, if necessary on Tuesday morning, SMRT said.

Commuters are advised to check for updates on the SMRT and LTA Facebook accounts, Twitter and LTA Traffic News.

"We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused to commuters," said Mr Lee.

The BPLRT was last disrupted by a train fault on Feb 24.

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