Free train service on SMRT on Wednesday until normal service resumes

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It was chaos at many MRT stations on Tuesday night after train services along the North-South and East-West lines were disrupted during the evening peak hour due to a power fault. At Bishan MRT, hundreds of commuters were seen crowding at bus stops, waiting their turn to board the free bus services.
There may be limited services on Wednesday morning (July 8) on the North-South and East-West lines, said operator SMRT following a train breakdown on Tuesday. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

SINGAPORE - Train service resumed at 5.30am on Wednesday (July 8) morning on the North-South and East-West lines but with reduced speeds, said operator SMRT in its latest update on Facebook at 5.19am.

Commuters were told to expect an average wait time of between five to seven minutes on both lines, while they were also warned to expect intermittent short delays throughout the day.

It said that travel is free for all who are using both lines on Wednesday, until normal service resumes.

Service on the North-South line, however, will be halted from 11am to 4pm for engineers from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT to conduct further investigations and determine the cause of the power trip.

The disruption, which occurred after 7pm on Tuesday evening, had caused an unprecedented delay on the two lines - the first time both were affected at the same time.

It is also thought to be possibly the worst MRT breakdown Singapore has experienced.

Service on the North-South line resumed at 10.35pm, more than three hours after the disruption which occurred after 7pm. Service on East-West line resumed at slower speed after 9.30pm.

SMRT also urged commuters to adjust their travel plans or use alternative services.

Free bus service will be available from designated bus stops and bus interchanges in close proximity to stations on both lines . Up to 100 additional buses will be deployed to ply the affected rail corridors.

The North-East and Circle lines will extend their morning peak period by two hours such that trains will run at intervals of between two and three minutes during the morning peak hours.

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