Rain worsens crowding on East-west line during rush hour

The rain and the usual morning rush hour contributed to another crush on the East-west MRT line Wednesday.

The crowding at the Jurong East interchange was so bad that platform marshalls stood by as helpless as commuters. The noise also drowned out station announcements, leading to some confusion among those waiting.

Bukit Gombak resident and equity broker Manoj Kumar, 42, said: "It's so confusing and frustrating. The trains are coming, but at very long intervals."

He said he had to wait for some 15 minutes before getting onto a train, only to have it stop several times on the track. "From Jurong to Clementi, it stopped three times on the track," Mr Kumar said. "I'm so late."

An SMRT spokesman said the hold-up is caused by the usual morning congestion as well as the rain. Because of the latter, the tracks are wet, and train drivers go slower as the lower friction can lead to longer braking distances.

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