NEL and Sengkang-Punggol LRT resume service after hours-long power fault

SINGAPORE - Train services on the North East MRT line resumed following a three-hour disruption caused by a major power fault from around 11am on Aug 12.

Services on the entire Sengkang-Punggol LRT system were fully restored at 9.20pm after about 10 hours.

While Sengkang LRT services were restored at 3.34pm and Punggol LRT services at 4.04pm, operator SBS Transit announced at 5.20pm that it would run the Sengkang-Punggol LRT lines on only one track each during the evening peak period, with trains arriving at five-minute intervals.

This was to avoid putting stress on the power supply from a single shared substation.

At about 6.15pm, The Straits Times observed long queues at the platform of Punggol LRT station, with staff heard directing passengers to free bridging bus services.

Some passengers appeared to be confused as there were initially no designated queueing areas for the loop services headed in different directions, but the confusion eased when station staff opened two more gates to facilitate boarding at Punggol station.

Free bridging buses were available at designated stops at Sengkang-Punggol LRT stations. Similar free bus services along the North East Line (NEL) had stopped after the resumption of train services there.

The disruption on the NEL affected train service between Farrer Park and Punggol Coast, a stretch of 11 stations, said SBS Transit’s group chief executive Jeffrey Sim in a Facebook post at about 3pm on Aug 12.

Service was restored at 12.50pm between Farrer Park and Buangkok, and was declared fully back up at 2.10pm.

When contacted, SBS Transit referred The Straits Times to its social media post with Mr Sim’s statement.

In that post, Mr Sim said free and regular bus services were available at affected stations and selected bus interchanges throughout the disruption. He added that the operator’s passenger service teams were also at the affected stations to assist and guide commuters.

“We apologise to all affected commuters for the inconvenience caused. We take this matter very seriously and are looking into the cause of the incident,” he said.

Later in the evening on the same day, Mr Sim said in another statement that

preliminary investigations showed that a power switchboard failure

led to the disruptions.

SBS Transit announced the MRT disruption on social media platform X at 11.17am and, during the disruption, posted on social media alternative routes for commuters.

When ST arrived at Serangoon MRT station at about 11.50am, power on the NEL side seemed to be off, though the lights remained on.

Trains travelling in both directions on the NEL were still at the platform.

Staff members could also be seen guiding commuters towards the street level, where they could take the free bridging bus services.

In videos of the disruption circulated on social media, some passengers can be seen walking along MRT tracks.

The Land Transport Authority said in a Facebook post on Aug 12 that the Singapore Civil Defence Force had been activated to help passengers get from the stalled trains to the nearby station platforms.

Passenger Shawn Tan, 17, said he found out about train services being down only when he arrived at the station.

The second-year polytechnic student was on his way home to Sengkang from classes at Singapore Polytechnic in Dover.

He said this was the first time such an incident had happened to him, but noted that “it was bound to happen one day”.

Madam Sandra Sim, 70, was heading to Woodleigh station from her home in Serangoon North.

She had tapped in at Serangoon station and was ready to get to her destination before staff informed her that the service was not operational.

Madam Sim said she noticed that the station was darker than usual.

The homemaker added that she felt staff at the station could have given clearer directions, as she realised that there were no NEL train services only after tapping in and attempting to walk towards the platform.

At one of the bus stops at Serangoon MRT station with bridging bus services towards Punggol Coast, a queue of more than 50 passengers had formed at about 12.35pm, snaking to the entrance of Nex shopping mall.

There was confusion at the station platforms.

At around 1.15pm, an announcement stating that all train services had resumed was heard at the NEL’s Serangoon station. Station staff later removed the barricades preventing entry to the train platform.

A train bound for Punggol Coast arrived at 1.25pm and left almost 10 minutes later. Passengers, however, waited more than 20 minutes for a train heading towards HarbourFront, before the monitors at the platform showed that there was no train service in that direction.

Station staff also appeared unsure, once again stopping passengers from entering the platform, before directing them to the free bus services.

Over at Woodleigh station, Mrs Samjhana Gurung, 35, was planning to go to Little India to visit the bank, before picking up her son from his school in Serangoon at 1.30pm.

The homemaker told ST she was not aware train services were down, saying she would have left home earlier if she had known.

“I am feeling a bit worried and scared that I will not be able to travel to Little India in time, and to fetch my son from Zhonghua Primary School afterwards,” she said, noting that she would hop on a free bus service to Little India.

Over in Punggol, passengers such as polytechnic student Eldric Tan had their journeys hindered by the disruption to LRT services.

As he could not use the LRT, the 18-year-old had to take two bridging bus services from his home near Nibong LRT station to get to a gym near Riviera LRT station.

Nevertheless, he said he was not in a rush, adding that the disruption would add 10 minutes to his usual journey of 20 to 25 minutes.

Mr Pradeep Kumar, 42, who was travelling from his office in Chinatown to his home near Coral Edge LRT station, said he was surprised by the disruption to the Punggol LRT line.

The pricing actuary said: “If the disruption happens once in a while, it is still okay. But if it continues to repeat, then it will be a pain for us.”

He predicted that his journey home would take 15 minutes longer than usual, and said he would consider renting a shared bicycle if it took longer than expected.