SINGAPORE – A train fault on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) disrupted peak-hour travel for almost three hours on Tuesday evening.
Transport operator SMRT alerted the public on Twitter about the fault at 5.05pm and said commuters should expect additional travel time of 25 minutes.
Free bus services were provided between Caldecott and Gardens by the Bay MRT stations.
SMRT later advised commuters to use other MRT lines, adding that free bus transport was available between Caldecott and Orchard stations.
After about 40 minutes, it revised the additional travel time to 15 minutes.
At 6.27pm, SMRT said in an update that train services towards Gardens by the Bay had resumed.
Free bus transport was still available for those affected by the disruption and travelling towards Woodlands North station.
Shedding more light on what caused the train fault, SMRT said in a Facebook post that the problem happened at Orchard station towards Woodlands at 4.40pm. The defective train has been withdrawn for investigations.
“We are sorry to affect your evening commute,” it said.
At 7.21pm, SMRT said train services had resumed and the free bus transport had ended.
Despite the train delays, Caldecott station was not crowded when The Straits Times visited it at around 6.40pm.
Ms Nursurya Ibrahim, who was on her way from Maxwell to Woodlands to pick up her baby from an infant care centre, realised the train was moving extremely slowly when she boarded it at about 5.10pm.
The 38-year-old clinical trainer immediately alerted her husband that she might be late in reaching the centre.
Her journey usually takes about 45 minutes but on Tuesday, it lasted almost two hours.
“I am happy that my travelling time to work and back home is reduced with the TEL, but I understand that there may be glitches here and there that can’t be helped,” she said.
Ms Marianne Phua was unaware of the disruption when she boarded a train at Outram Park heading for Orchard at 6.20pm.
But at Havelock, she saw a delay notice that flashed across the train’s display screens.
“For train lines that are older, they (MRT staff) are more used to having disruptions, so they’re better prepared. On the TEL, there was no announcement at Outram Park (station),” Ms Phua said, adding that the instructions by staff at Orchard station were “confusing”.
In a Facebook update on Wednesday, SMRT said that the train fault was traced back to an electronic card, which will be sent back to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for “immediate diagnosis and repair”.
“Electronic cards control various functions, mainly communication between train and track equipment, and they ensure the safe operation of the train,” said SMRT.
It added that the OEM will work with SMRT and the Land Transport Authority to check the condition of electronic cards on all other trains.
In February, two disruptions happened on the TEL four days apart. A train delay on Feb 2 caused an additional travel time of 10 minutes, with trains moving slower from Woodlands North towards Caldecott, at around 5.30am.
Another train encountered a fault on Feb 6 during the evening peak period, causing a delay of around 20 minutes for commuters travelling from Woodlands North to Gardens by the Bay.
- Additional reporting by Josiah Teo
