NEL train services back to normal after delays during morning peak hour

SINGAPORE - Train services returned to normal on the North East Line (NEL) on Feb 10 after some delays during the morning rush hour caused by a signalling fault.

Train operator SBS Transit had told commuters on social media to expect delays of up to 30 minutes due to a signalling fault in Buangkok in the morning.

Later, in a social media post at 8.45am, SBS Transit said the NEL was back to full regular service, and free regular and bridging bus services had ceased.

In its first social media post at 6.23am, the operator said commuters should expect additional travel time of 10 minutes, which it later updated to 15 minutes.

At 7.11am, it revised the delay to 20 minutes, and later to 30 minutes at 7.43am.

Free regular bus services were available at Serangoon, Hougang and Sengkang bus interchanges, while free bridging bus services were available at bus stops near affected stations between Dhoby Ghaut and Punggol Coast stations, SBS Transit said.

IT engineer Vincent Lim told ST that he boarded the train at Punggol station at 6am but arrived at HarbourFront station only at 7.35am.

“The journey typically takes about 45 minutes but it took me 1½ hours today,” said the 49-year-old, who added that he starts work at 7am. “The delay felt like an hour, and not 15 minutes.”

Mr Lim said he hopes more information about the bridging buses can be made available at the stations. “People like me who solely depend on the MRT to travel to work will not have any idea where the shuttle bus will take me to. Does it stop at HarbourFront station or somewhere else?”

Mr Mohamad Farish, who studies at ITE College East, told ST that he was travelling from Serangoon station to Punggol station when he experienced the train delay at 6.40am.

“My journey was supposed to take 15 minutes but it took me nearly an hour today,” said the 18-year-old, who had to continue his journey to his school in Simei via a bus ride from Punggol.

“My classes were supposed to start at 8am but I arrived only at 9am. Thankfully, my lecturers were quite understanding after I told them what had happened.”

Engineer Dennis Bong, 39, also had to take a different route to get to his workplace near HarbourFront station.

Instead of taking the NEL from Punggol to HarbourFront, he took a bus from Punggol to Tampines West, where he took the Downtown Line to Chinatown.

He later switched to the NEL, eventually arriving at HarbourFront station two stops away. The detour lengthened his commute by an hour.

“The train being late is something we cannot avoid, but since there was an alternative route, I am not as badly affected,” he said.

Mr Bong added: “It seems like now, it is quite frequent for MRT faults to happen.”

Cleaner Cui Hong Jie, 58, also had to make a detour. After a 10-minute wait at 6.50am, she boarded the train at Boon Keng station.

But the journey to her Telok Ayer workplace via Chinatown station was not a smooth ride. The train kept making unscheduled stops, which frustrated her.

“When the train reached Dhoby Ghaut, the announcement said the delay would be 20 minutes, and that’s when I decided to change trains.”

She then took the North-South Line from Dhoby Ghaut to Raffles Place, before walking to her workplace. This lengthened her usual 30-minute journey to more than an hour.

She added that she was extremely nervous about being late for work.

The NEL service delays on Feb 10 came after journeys on the North-South and East-West lines – operated by SMRT – were held up on Feb 7. This was after an engineering vehicle derailed at Bishan Depot.