A material defect was the cause of a severely cracked glass panel at the platform of the one-north Circle Line MRT station, rail operator SMRT said yesterday following investigations.

The cracks, which appeared on Wednesday afternoon, raised concern among commuters, who took pictures and posted them on Facebook and the HardwareZone site.

The damaged panel, which was on the track side but visible from the platform in the direction of HarbourFront station, did not affect train services.

"Our staff immediately cordoned off the area as a precaution for commuter safety, although the glass on the station side was not affected," said SMRT vice-president for corporate information and communications Patrick Nathan.

The damaged glass panel was replaced early yesterday morning during off-service hours.

In May last year, a glass panel in the cabin of an East-West Line train shattered. The panel was located next to a seat reserved for elderly people and pregnant women. Nobody was hurt in the incident.

Adrian Lim