Free bus services, shuttle trains: Alternative travel options amid MRT disruption on EWL

SINGAPORE – If you are affected by

the MRT service disruption on the East-West Line (EWL)

which has entered its second day on Sept 26, you can consider the following alternative travel arrangements.

As train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations remain unavailable, transport operator SMRT has arranged for free bridging bus services between these two stops.

Free regular bus services are also available between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations, covering the nine-station stretch first affected by a traction power fault that occurred on the morning of Sept 25.

Commuters can also take the shuttle train that is running at 10-minute intervals between Boon Lay and Jurong East stations, and between Queenstown and Buona Vista stations.

SMRT advised those travelling towards the city centre to take the North-South Line via Jurong East, Woodlands and Bishan; the Thomson-East Coast Line via Woodlands and Caldecott; and the Downtown Line via Botanic Gardens.

To get on the Circle Line, commuters can alight at Queenstown and take the shuttle train to Buona Vista.

To transfer to the North-South Line, they can alight at Boon Lay and take the shuttle train to Jurong East.

The transport operator urged commuters to follow updates on its official social media channels.

“We are deeply sorry and thank all commuters for their understanding and patience, as we do our best to recover train services on the affected stretch of the East-West Line,” SMRT said in an update on Facebook at 9.20pm on Sept 25.

Those who wished to book a ride to Buona Vista MRT station via Grab, Gojek and ComfortDelGro might have encountered difficulties in the morning.

Between 9.30am and 11am, The Straits Times was unable to book a ride to the station on these ride-hailing apps.

A pop-up message on Grab said Buona Vista station was “inaccessible due to a public event”, while the message on Gojek said there was an “emergency in the area”. ComfortDelGro’s app showed that the “destination address is restricted from booking”.

As at 6pm, users were able to book rides to Buona Vista station with Gojek and ComfortDelGro, but not on the Grab app.

Amid the

service disruption on the morning of Sept 26,

commuters and MRT station staff also had to brave heavy rain which started at around 8am.

Many MRT station staff were seen directing buses to stop closer to the sheltered bus stop, so that commuters would not get drenched while boarding or alighting from the bus.

Some of them were also seen assisting a wheelchair user in alighting from the bus.