SINGAPORE - A train fault caused delays of around 20 minutes on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) during the evening peak period on Monday.

In a tweet at 6.43pm, transport operator SMRT said trains were moving slower along the 22-station stretch from Woodlands North to Gardens by the Bay.

In a subsequent update, it said regular bus services were available free between Springleaf and Caldecott stations, a stretch of six stations.

Normal train service resumed at around 7.30pm.

Commuter Matthew Toh, 29, who boarded a train at Stevens station, said train services towards Woodlands were also affected.

He said: “We alighted at Caldecott at 6.40pm after the train captain announced there was an ‘incident’. The train remained stationary for about 10 minutes before moving off in the opposite direction it came from.”

“The platform was pretty crowded at this point and a station staff member was telling commuters not to enter the TEL platform because it was crowded.”

Mr Toh added that at around 7.05pm, station staff announced that those heading to Woodlands should continue their journey on the Circle Line instead.

This is the second train fault along the TEL in the past four days, and the second train disruption of the day.

Last Thursday, a train encountered a fault at Upper Thomson station at around 5.40am. This caused delays of about 10 minutes between Woodlands North and Caldecott stations. Normal train service resumed at around 6.30am.

A track fault caused delays of up to 25 minutes for early-morning commuters on Monday, on the North-South Line between Choa Chu Kang and Yishun stations.