Under The Angsana Tree: MRT Disruptions That Affected 3 Lines & 36 Stations

Power fault caused train service disruption on North-South, East-West, Circle lines

Blackout at Boon Lay MRT staion on 14 October, 2020. (SCREENSHOT: @CipherDonuts/Twitter)

Train service on the North-South and East-West Lines (NSEWL) was partially disrupted for over three hours on Wednesday (14 October) due to a power fault, severely affecting commuters heading home during the evening rush hour. The fault also caused disruption on the Circle Line for slightly over an hour.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the breakdown was caused by a faulty power cable, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA), adding that its engineers are working with public transport operator SMRT Corporation to carry out a full investigation into the incident. In an apology posted on Facebook, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the team will work through the night to rectify the problem.

The fault had occurred between Marsiling and Jurong East MRT stations on the North-South Line, and between Dover and Tuas Link MRT stations on the East-West Line, said SMRT. It disrupted train service along the North-South Line at around 7pm and at about 7.30pm along both the East-West and Circle lines. Train service on the Circle Line resumed ‪at 8.40pm‬, while services on the NSEWL resumed at 10.35pm at all stations. “Due to the delay, SMRT commenced safe detrainment for passengers on NSEWL trains ‪at 7.40pm‬; and ‪at 8pm‬ for Circle Line trains,” said the LTA.

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Everything About the Major MRT Disruptions That Affected 3 Lines & 36 Stations Summarised for You

Back in 2015, over 250,000 people were left stranded in one of the most major MRT disruptions in Singapore’s history, whereby both the North-South and East-West Lines came to a complete halt for several hours during evening rush hour.

That started the entire MRT breakdown saga, in which both the SMRT CEO and the transport minister took the heat and were “replaced”. But soon, there were improvements along the way, albeit at a cost as SMRT admitted their mistakes while more maintenance was done, leading to shorter operating hours.

Five years down the road, minor breakdowns still occur, but major breakdowns are rare. And today is one those rare days that the new Transport Minister, Ong Ye Kung, won’t forget. The 2015 disruption affected two major lines, the North-South Line and East-West Line. Today, three lines were affected concurrently.

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Three-line MRT breakdown raises serious, troubling questions

Wednesday (Oct 14) evening's power-related disruption affecting three MRT lines was the first incident of its kind in four years.

It came after a relatively uneventful year, except for a six-hour disruption - also power-related - that affected the North East Line in February.

As it took place during the evening peak, the breakdown is estimated to have affected at least 200,000 commuters.

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MRT power fault: I was stuck on train for 3 hours, says commuter

Mr Ryan Koh was on a train heading home from Clementi to Yew Tee when the disruption occurred, leaving him stuck on the train for three hours, on Oct 14, 2020.PHOTO: RYAN KOH

Finance executive Ryan Koh, 29, spent nearly three hours in a train after a power trip disrupted service along stretches of three MRT lines on Wednesday (Oct 14).

He was heading home from Clementi to Yew Tee when the power fault occurred. The train he was on came to a halt inside the tunnel between Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak stations.

"Some lights went out immediately and the train came to a stop slowly. I was expecting a minor delay but now I am stuck for almost three hours," he said.

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MRT breakdown: Private-hire car fare surges above S$20 just to get home

Large crowds, overwhelmed shuttle buses

A power fault on the North-South, East-West and Circle Lines at the same time on Oct. 14 evening peak hour wreaked havoc for thousands of commuters on their way home.

Train services on these three MRT lines were disrupted between Jurong East and Marsiling, Serangoon and HarbourFront, as well as Clementi and Tuas Link. Train services along North-South and East-West lines were first disrupted at around 7pm.

SMRT said train services were restored progressively from 8:45pm, but long queues and crowds formed at the bus stops right outside of affected MRT stations, including Clementi, Buona Vista and Queenstown MRT stations.

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Train services resume on North-South, East-West, Circle lines after disruption due to power fault

Crowds at Buona Vista MRT station after a power fault disrupted train services on several lines on Oct 14, 2020. (Photo: Christy Yip)

A power fault disrupted train services on parts of the North-South, East-West and Circle lines on Wednesday evening (Oct 14), with some commuters having to walk on the tracks to make their way back to the station.

Bus stops were packed with passengers rushing to look for other ways to continue their journey.

Passenger service on the Circle Line resumed at 8.40pm, while service on the North-South and East-West lines resumed at 10.35pm.

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Commuters stuck on trains for hours because of power fault

Crowds formed at Queenstown MRT station yesterday after the worst power-related disruption on the train network since 2017. TNP PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

Many commuters were stuck on trains for hours during yesterday's evening rush hour in the worst power-related disruption on the train network since 2017.

There were no train services on parts of the North-South and East-West MRT lines at about 7pm, and later on the Circle Line at 7.30pm because of a power fault.

SMRT helped to detrain passengers, but this was temporarily put on hold during heavy rain at one point.

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Other major train breakdowns in Singapore

A power fault shut down train service on parts of the North-South and East-West MRT Lines at around 7pm on Wednesday (Oct 14), severely disrupting the evening rush-hour commute for many commuters. At 7.30pm, the fault disrupted service along a 16-station stretch of the Circle Line. Preliminary investigations indicate that a faulty power cable had caused the breakdown, which is one of the most serious power-related incidents to hit the MRT network in recent years. Here are some other serious breakdowns:

DEC 15 AND 17, 2011
JULY 7, 2015
APRIL 25, 2016
JUNE 28, 2017
JULY 12, 2017
AUG 17, 2017
SEPT 19, 2018
OCT 9, 2019

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Thailand takes low jab at Singapore’s epic rail fail

Edited image of Thailand’s and Singapore’s train. Images: Singapore Airlines / Facebook, Mayuko Tani

Thailand’s tourism authority took a jab at Singapore’s railway breakdown last night, saying online that its train services – known for their share of woes – were running “smooth as silk.”

The authority was thanking Singapore Airlines for promoting Bangkok’s newest train stations when it couldn’t resist adding the comment after Singaporean commuters were left stranded by a rail major breakdown last night that lasted several hours.

“Thank you Singapore Airlines for your feature! Our trains are running smooth as silk tonight,” the snarky comment read, drawing mostly positive reactions from the public who were laughing along with them. Not coincidentally, “smooth as silk” is also the tagline for Thailand’s national carrier, Thai Airways.

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Spate of MRT disruptions

LTA, SMRT aim to partially restore services on Sept 27

The disruption of train services along a stretch of the East-West Line between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations will continue into a third day, after checks found that a faulty train had caused extensive damage to tracks and trackside equipment on Sept 25.

Rail operator SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are aiming to partially restore services on Sept 27, and run a shuttle train service every 20 minutes along the affected stretch. The second-longest rail disruption in Singapore to date affected about 358,000 passengers on Sept 25. Another 516,000 will have their journeys disrupted on Sept 26.

It was triggered by a first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries train, which encountered a fault at around 9am on Sept 25 and was withdrawn to Ulu Pandan Depot, said LTA and SMRT in a statement. While en route to the depot, a defective axle box on the third carriage of the six-carriage train dropped onto the tracks near Dover station, causing one bogie to come off the running rail. This is the first time such an incident has happened.

Longer travel time, snaking bus queues: EWL passengers cope with 2nd day of train disruption

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