SINGAPORE - A faulty track circuit was responsible for the delays experienced by commuters on the East-West Line on Tuesday (Dec 29) and Wednesday (Dec 30), SMRT said in a statement.

Track faults had occurred near Jurong East MRT station in the morning on both days, resulting in additional travelling time from Joo Koon to Clementi stations, in the direction of Pasir Ris.

On Wednesday, passengers were held up by more than 30 minutes in some cases before the problem was rectified after two hours.

Trains on the affected stretch of track were forced to travel at a slower speed due to the faulty circuit, which tracks and controls the speed of trains moving along the rail network, SMRT said.

As a result, some trains heading towards Joo Koon were turned around at Clementi and Jurong East stations to serve peak-hour commuters travelling towards the city.

Apologising for the slower journey that commuters had complained of, SMRT added that its staff were on hand to monitor the situation on station platforms and look out for the safety of commuters.

According to SMRT, the same track circuit had developed an intermittent fault on Tuesday morning. Trains were forced to travel at a slower speed as a safety precaution.

Repair works were subsequently carried out on the track circuit on Tuesday.

SMRT is investigating why the same track circuit had failed twice on consecutive days.

Its engineering staff will examine the circuit at the end of train service on Wednesday in order to uncover the root cause.