3 MRT disruption incidents in early Feb. 2025 were unrelated, no 'systemic issue' & no need for COI: Chee Hong Tat​

The three incidents of MRT disruption which occurred from Feb. 7 to 11 were unrelated as they involved different lines, components, operations and maintenance teams, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in Parliament on Feb. 26.

Chee was responding to questions posed by Members of Parliament (MPs) Leong Mun Wai and Dennis Tan about the disruptions to the North-South Line (NSL) on Feb. 7, the North-East Line (NEL) on Feb. 10 and the Circle Line (CCL) on Feb. 11.

When Leong asked Chee if he would consider convening a Committee of Inquiry (COI) in light of how all three incidents occurred within a week, Chee replied that as all of them were unrelated, it did not show a systemic issue or concern which would necessitate a COI.

What exactly happened in all three incidents?

Chee shared the preliminary findings into the three incidents.

Feb. 7 NSL disruption

At around 5:15 am, an engineering vehicle broke down at a railway crossing in Bishan Depot after routine maintenance works.

This engineering vehicle comprises three wagons, used for carrying equipment and materials for maintenance works, and two locomotives, used for moving the wagons along the MRT tracks.

The minister pointed out that as trains departing Bishan Depot for the main line need to pass through this railway crossing, SMRT was unable to launch trains from Bishan Depot.

Hence, to allow operations to resume, SMRT attempted to move the stalled engineering vehicle using a rescue train.

However, when the rescue train started moving the stalled vehicle, SMRT discovered that some of the wheels of two of the wagons had come off the rails.

"By the time the engineering vehicle stalled, only three out of 39 trains that were scheduled to serve the NSL that morning had been launched from Bishan Depot," he said.

In response, SMRT redirected some trains from the East-West Line (EWL) to the NSL.

The minister noted that commuters experienced longer waiting times at the stations, as there were fewer trains during the peak periods but their travel times were largely unaffected once they boarded.

As for the stalled engineering vehicle, SMRT had to use hydraulic equipment to slowly and safely shift the stalled vehicle onto another track, as the tight space around the tracks meant SMRT could not use heavy lifting cranes.

The vehicle was cleared off the railway crossing by around 5:30pm and SMRT was able to launch trains from Bishan Depot from 6:36pm, and progressively restored normal train service for commuters on the NSL and EWL, following a series of safety checks.

Feb. 10 NEL disruption

On Feb. 10, a signalling fault occurred near Buangkok station at about 6:08am.

This prevented the NEL trains from being controlled automatically, Chee said.

As a result, while trains could still travel along the NEL, they had to be controlled manually and travel at slower speeds to ensure safety.

This in turn led to reduced frequency of service and additional travel time for commuters.

In response, SBS Transit (SBST) activated free regular and bridging buses along the NEL between Punggol Coast and Dhoby Ghaut stations at 6:55 am, to provide commuters with an alternative travel option, he added.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the signalling fault was caused by a malfunctioning electronic card in the signalling system.

He said:

Feb. 11 CCL disruption

As for the Feb. 11 CCL disruption, Chee noted that on Feb. 13, LTA had said that a power trip had occurred arising from a signalling fault.

However, further investigations show that there was no power trip, and that the incident was due to a signalling fault, he said.

Based on LTA's latest findings, at around 8:15am, a signalling fault caused a temporary loss of communications between CCL train and the track side signalling equipment.

When this happens, the train in question will engage its brakes and stop moving in accordance with safety protocols, Chee explained.

In addition, the other trains near the affected train will also come to a stop to ensure safety for commuters, so as to keep the trains at a safe distance from one another until communications can be fully restored.

"Due to this signalling fault, 17 trains between Paya Lebar and Marymount stations were temporarily halted for safety," Chee pointed out.

SMRT then withdrew the incident train from the mainline, and after doing the necessary safety checks, train movement resumed progressively from 8:20am, five minutes after the signalling fault first occurred.

However, when train operations were being restored, SMRT noticed that the Central Automatic Train Supervision (CATS) system, which manages the movement of trains, became less responsive.

As a result, it took longer than usual to resume normal train operations, even though trains had started moving on the CCL, Chee said.

The delay in resumption of normal train operations led to longer wait times and travel durations for some CCL commuters.

On the CATS system, Chee elaborated:

All three incidents did not result in a prolonged stoppage of train services

Chee subsequently highlighted that unlike some previous disruptions where trains were unable to continue travelling on the tracks, the three incidents did not result in a prolonged stoppage of train services.

"However, as these incidents happened during the morning peak hours, they affected a larger number of commuters and lengthened the waiting and travel times," the minister said.

Staff morale

In his follow-up question, in addition for calling for a COI, Leong asked if the minister could look into potential problems with staffing, turnover, skill level and morale among the engineering and maintenance department of SMRT.

Chee pointed out that a COI is not necessary as the incidents are unrelated and there's no systemic issue.

LTA, the regulator, is empowered to conduct a thorough investigation and share its findings publicly.

Chee said he is committed to sharing the findings of LTA's investigation into the previous year's East-West Line disruption publicly.

However, Chee agreed with Leong that a review should go "beyond hardware", and thanked Leong for highlighting the importance of staff morale, as the teams are important for ensuring smooth performance.

Communications to public

When asked by Tan about how the public communication process to commuters can be improved, Chee replied that this is an area where the government will see how it can be fine-tuned and improved.

In the case of these incidents, both SMRT and SBS Transit did their best to communicate alternative means of transport to commuters, he added.

In addition, these disruptions are why the government will continue to expand the country's MRT network so as to provide more alternatives to commuters in the event of a disruption, the minister concluded.

North-East Line disrupted for 2 hours in morning due to signalling fault

Train services on the North-East Line (NEL) were disrupted for about two hours during the morning rush hour period on Feb. 10 due to a signalling fault.

Commuters were advised to expect up to 30 minutes of additional travel time at the height of the disruption.

Delay started before 6:30am

SBS Transit, which operates the NEL, said in a 6:23am post on X that NEL service had been delayed due to a signalling fault.

It advised commuters to expect additional travel time of about 10 minutes.

SBS Transit's subsequent Facebook post clarified the fault was encountered at Buangkok MRT station.

Commuters at HarbourFront, Outram Park, Chinatown, Dhoby Ghaut, Little India or Serangoon MRT stations were advised to use alternative MRT lines, such as the Circle Line, North-South Line and Downtown Line.

SBS Transit said that free regular bus rides were made available at Serangoon, Hougang and Sengkang bus interchanges.

Commuters could also take free regular and bridging bus services at designated bus stops between Dhoby Ghaut MRT station and Punggol Coast MRT station.

In a subsequent 7:11am post, SBS Transit said that 20 minutes of extra travelling time could be expected.

A 7:43am post placed the extra travelling time at 30 minutes.

The crowds

In a post on Facebook, a large number of commuters were seen crowding at Punggol MRT station during the disruption.

The user wrote that crowds gathered at the platform and station on Feb. 10 morning as the packed city-bound trains did not move off from the station for a long time.

"I can't imagine the situation down the line," he added.

Back to regular service by 8:28am

At 8:28am, SBS Transit said in an update that the NEL was back to regular service.

"Once again, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused," the operator wrote.

MRT services on North-South and East-West lines resume after engineering vehicle fault

SINGAPORE - Train passengers travelling on the North-South and East-West MRT lines had their journeys delayed due to a faulty engineering vehicle on the morning of Feb 7.

The fault led to delays of up to 20 minutes on the North-South Line between Ang Mo Kio and Jurong East stations, train operator SMRT said.

In its first social media post at 5.52am, SMRT advised travellers to add 20 minutes to their travelling time. It was later revised to 10 minutes, before it was further reduced to five minutes at 7.27am. 

In an update at 9.30am, SMRT said train services on both lines had returned to normal.

Free regular bus and bridging bus services, that were available between Bishan and Woodlands, also ceased by 9.30am.

SMRT said in a Facebook post at 7am that an engineering vehicle returning to Bishan Depot after regular maintenance works during engineering hours broke down at one of the crossings in the depot at 5.15am.

This prevented some trains serving the North-South Line on the morning of Feb 7 from leaving the depot.

SMRT engineers were on site to recover the faulty engineering vehicle.

Earlier, more trains from other depots were redirected from the East-West line to support the North-South line, SMRT added in a Facebook post at about 8am.

The waiting time between trains on the North-South and East-West lines had temporarily increased to up to five minutes.

SMRT also encouraged passengers to take alternate routes via the Thomson-East Coast Line and the Circle Line.

On Jan 10, train passengers travelling between Marina South Pier and Bishan MRT stations had their journeys delayed due to a stalled train on the North-South Line during the peak hour.

The disruption was caused by a northbound train that stalled near Orchard station at 5.40pm, SMRT said.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/north-south-line-mrt-services-delayed-due-to-train-fault

Investigations underway after 3 Thomson-East Coast Line disruptions in a week

SINGAPORE: Transport operator SMRT, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and French train maker Alstom are investigating the three disruptions which hit the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) in a week.

Engineers are looking into the root causes of the incidents on Dec 27, Dec 29 and Jan 2, SMRT said in a Facebook post late on Friday (Jan 3), adding that all three delays were unrelated.

A signalling fault had caused the earliest disruption and as a result, "multiple trains received stop commands and had to be manually driven at 18kph after system resets", it said.

The "intermittent stoppages" on Dec 27 had spanned over 2.5 hours and caused a delay of up to 15 minutes.

On the Dec 29 incident, SMRT said it involved a train experiencing "intermittent brake faults" as it departed a station.

This led to a 15-minute delay for commuters travelling from Bayshore to Woodlands North as trains had to move slower.

"In line with safety protocols, the train was manually operated at 18kph," SMRT added. "The fault cleared automatically, allowing regular train services to resume shortly after."

According to SMRT, preliminary findings suggest a possible component fault within the train.

With regards to the Jan 2 incident, SMRT said a train had triggered the emergency brake system as it approached Orchard MRT station, requiring manual operation.

Commuters were then advised to factor in an additional 10 minutes for their trip between Caldecott and Bayshore MRT stations due to a train fault. The fault was cleared within 30 minutes.

Investigations into the root cause of the incident are ongoing, SMRT added, noting that train services continued operating in both directions during all three incidents.

A separate probe into the disruption of train services, which occurred over six days last September, on the East-West Line between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations is currently ongoing.

Those investigations are expected to be completed in a few months, LTA said in October.

The fourth stage of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL4) - comprising Marine Parade, Tanjong Rhu, Katong Park, Tanjong Katong, Marine Terrace, Siglap and Bayshore stations - opened last June.

The fifth stage of the line – connecting Bayshore and Sungei Bedok – will be completed by 2026, while an extension to connect the TEL to Changi Airport will be completed in the mid-2030s, together with the opening of Terminal 5.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mrt-tel-train-disruption-delay-investigations-fault-4837916

Thomson-East Coast Line commuters face delays on 19 Dec morning due to signal fault

SINGAPORE: Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) commuters faced service delays on 19 December during the morning peak hour due to a signal fault.

An initial update on the SGTrains website reported the delay at 9.54am.

SMRT later confirmed the fault, advising commuters to add 10 minutes to their travel time between Bayshore and Woodlands North stations in both directions.

In an X post at 9.38am, SMRT stated:”Please allow for an additional 10 mins travel time between Bayshore and Woodlands North in both directions due to a signal fault.”

Commuters in the comments section highlighted frustrations, with some stating they waited longer than 10 minutes at Stevens station, while others complained about being late for work.

This marks the second reported incident on the TEL in recent months.

On the evening of 1 October, a train fault caused slower train movement between Woodlands North and Lentor stations. SMRT announced at 5.52pm that services on the affected line had fully resumed.

The TEL fault occurred shortly after train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista on the East-West Line resumed following a six-day major disruption.

https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2024/12/19/thomson-east-coast-line-commuters-face-delays-on-19-dec-morning-due-to-signal-fault/

Track fault on 7-station stretch of East-West Line delays commuters during evening peak hour

SINGAPORE - Train commuters in western Singapore were delayed in their journeys during the evening peak hour on Dec 17, when a track fault affected a seven-station stretch on the East-West Line.

In a Facebook post at 7.37pm, operator SMRT advised commuters to factor in 15 minutes more when travelling between the Jurong East and Gul Circle stations.

Free regular service was available between the two stations, SMRT also said on X.

The delay was subsequently shortened to 10 minutes, before SMRT announced at 8.05pm that train services between the two stations had resumed, and the free bus services were stopped.

Several users on Facebook and X said the disruption happened at around 7pm.

Facebook user Fang Ng said: “I was on East-West Line at close to 7pm and alighted the train at Queenstown because announcement was made on the train fault.

“The social media announcement for train fault came... later. Why can’t the announcement be made earlier for folks to arrange alternative transport?”

The delay on Dec 17 follows two recent disruptions on the Circle Line, which is also operated by SMRT.

A signalling fault affected train service in the 10-station stretch between Farrer Road and Harbourfront stations on Dec 16, while a stalled train at Tai Seng station on Dec 14 resulted in no train service between Serangoon and Promenade stations – also a 10-stop stretch.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/track-fault-on-7-station-stretch-of-east-west-line-delays-commuters-during-evening-peak-hour

MRT reliability drops over the past year, with East-West Line showing biggest decline

Train service reliability has dropped over the 12-month period ending in September this year, with the East-West Line (EWL) showing the biggest decline.

These sobering figures were released by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on 22 Nov, in its latest Performance of Rail Service Reliability report.

MRT reliability gauged by mean kilometres between failures

The statistics are based on a 12-month moving average of mean kilometres between failures (MKBF), which is an engineering measure of rail reliability.

According to the report, MRT trains ran 1.798 million train-km without disruptions of more than five minutes between October 2023 and September 2024.

This is lower than the 2.077 million train-km recorded between delays in 2023.

It’s also lower than the 2.089 million train-km recorded in 2022 and the 1.994 million train-km recorded in 2021.

Reliability of EWL plummets

Among the individual lines, the Downtown Line (DTL) was the best performer by far, with 8.112 million train-km travelled between delays.

The Circle Line (CCL) was the worst performer, going just 1.04 million train-km between delays, a slight dip from 2023.

However, all the lines’ reliability remained more or less steady except for the EWL, which plummeted to 2.027 million train-km between delays, from a high of 3.363 million train-km last year.

While the EWL was the second-best performing line in 2023, it has now been overtaken by the North-East Line.

Notably, this came after a six-day disruption to the EWL at the end of September that affected about 2.6 million passengers.

The Thomson-East Coast Line was not included in the report as the line will open fully only in 2026.

LRT reliability also dropped

Unfortunately, the reliability of the LRT network has also dropped steeply, with an overall MKBF of 358,000 car-km between delays, down from 546,000 car-km in 2023.

The Sengkang-Punggol LRT performed better but took a sharp hit, plunging to an MKBF of 612,000 car-km from 1.217 million car-km in 2023.

This was still higher than the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT), though, which slid to 189,000 car-km between delays, from 248,000 car-km in 2023.

In October, a BPLRT train became “immobilised” on the track, resulting in a five-hour service disruption and train service ending about 1.5 hours earlier than normal.

More MRT service delays this year

Finally, the number of service delays may also be on an upward trend on the MRT network.

There have already been six service delays of more than 30 minutes across the entire MRT network in the first nine months of this year.

This is compared with five for the whole of 2023, seven in 2022 and just three in 2021.

Two of the service delays this year happened on the EWL, while three were on the CCL and the remaining one was on the DTL.

The number of service delays on the LRT network has been more or less steady, with three in the first three quarters of the year compared with three in the whole of last year.

Public transport fares should not be linked to service levels and disruptions: Chee Hong Tat

SINGAPORE: Public transport service levels and disruptions should be separate from how fares are set, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat on Tuesday (Oct 15). 

Speaking during a ministerial statement on the East-West Line train disruption that occurred from Sep 25 to Sep 30, Mr Chee responded to a question from Member of Parliament Gerald Giam (WP-Aljunied) about whether this incident and service levels can be taken into consideration in the Public Transport Council’s (PTC) fare review exercise. 

MPs filed 31 parliamentary questions on the disruption, which stopped train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT stations for six days. 

PTC previously studied whether fare reviews should be linked to service levels and disruptions, Mr Chee noted. 

The council decided not to adopt this approach because there are other measures in place to ensure that service standards are met, he added.

For service disruptions, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will establish causes and accountability, then mete out penalties where necessary, said the transport minister. 

When operators do not meet reliability targets, they also do not receive payments under the government's incentive schemes. 

The annual fare review exercise ensures that fares keep pace with changes in operating costs so that the public transport system stays financially sustainable, said Mr Chee, adding that the council follows a fare formula. 

For example, the maximum increase allowed this year was 18.9 per cent, due to the 15.6 percentage points carried over from last year. PTC, however, decided to defer most of this and raise fares by 6 per cent to ensure affordability, said the transport minister. 

“If our fares are not adjusted to reflect rising operating costs, the persistent shortfall would have a chronic impact on service quality and reliability over time,” he added. 

“Or if we want to continue topping up the shortfall via government subsidies, it means that taxpayers will have to foot a higher bill.” 

Mr Chee also responded to multiple questions about how the costs of the disruption will be covered.

Regardless of the investigation outcome, SMRT will bear the costs of the free bridging buses and regular bus services, the foregone fare revenue during the disruption and the repair works, he said. 

This requirement applies to both rail operators – SMRT and SBS Transit – if they encounter disruptions along their respective train lines, he noted. 

A lot more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/east-west-line-train-disruption-chee-hong-tat-4678956

According to a Redditor, there was another train fault today:

https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/1g0wx7n/detrained_at_city_hall/

EWL services resume after delays caused by stalled train near Tiong Bahru MRT station

SINGAPORE – Train commuters on a section of the East-West Line were delayed on Oct 10, after a train broke down near the Tiong Bahru station.

A first-generation westbound Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train had stalled at about 12.30pm, and all the passengers safely disembarked at the Outram Park station, SMRT said in a Facebook post on Oct 10.

The operator said at 1.14pm that the fault was cleared, and train services were being restored.

SMRT had said earlier on Facebook that commuters had to add 25 minutes to their travel time from Outram Park to Queenstown stations. They were also to add 20 minutes when travelling from Queenstown to Bugis stations.

Free regular bus services were provided between the Outram Park and Queenstown stations.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to your commute,” said SMRT.

Project manager Norman Goh, 46, who boarded the train at the Outram Park station, said the train stopped abruptly when it was travelling towards the Tiong Bahru station.

“Strangely, the train was tilted when it stopped moving,” said Mr Goh, who was with his wheelchair-bound father.

He added that the train then travelled back to the Outram Park station.

Other commuters The Straits Times spoke to said they did not realise that there was a train disruption, but noticed that the trains took longer to arrive at their stations.

One of them, who gave her name only as Ms Farhana, said she was worried about being late for work. She had left the office at lunchtime and had planned to work from home for the rest of the day.

The 24-year-old, who works in the financial services industry, said she waited for about 10 minutes for a train from Outram Park to Tiong Bahru.

Train services on another section of the EWL were disrupted for six days after a faulty train damaged track equipment on Sept 25.

The faulty train was also a first-generation KHI train, with the Land Transport Authority saying on the same day that both the authority and SMRT would do a thorough check on these trains overnight, before they were put into service the next day.

The earlier disruption affected about 2.6 million commuters, including some students who were late for their examinations.

Student Thahira Ariska said on Oct 10 she waited for about 10 minutes for a train from her home in Boon Lay to Outram Park.

The 16-year-old said she had to take the bridging buses whenever she needed to travel towards the east during the earlier disruption, and had to leave home an hour earlier.

She said: “It’s a bit disappointing that this is happening, because I thought the train was back to normal.”

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/train-fault-causes-25-minute-delay-from-outram-park-to-queenstown-mrt-stations-on-ewl

East-West Line disruption: Investigations underway, LTA to appoint expert advisory panel to review findings

SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has begun a probe into the six-day disruption of train services on the East-West Line between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations.

The investigations are expected to be completed in a few months, said LTA on Wednesday (Oct 2), a day after train services resumed.

The findings, to be made public, will be reviewed by a panel made up of six experts.

Investigations will be conducted across several areas.

"First, we will investigate the root cause of the axle box failure. LTA’s investigations will include a forensic study into the nature of the axle box failure, and identify any other potential contributory factors that led to the incident," said the authority.

It will also look into the procedures involving fault detection and incident handling, and determine if appropriate actions were taken.

Finally, LTA will review the service recovery and disruption mitigation effort, to "ascertain the timeliness and comprehensiveness of the responses taken" by train operator SMRT. 

The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) will also carry out an independent safety investigation on the disruption, said the Ministry of Transport.

To support its investigations, LTA will appoint an Expert Advisory Panel (EAP) to review the findings and advise on technical matters.

The panel will be chaired by Mr Malcolm Dobell, former head of train systems for London Underground, and comprises five other local and overseas experts:

• Dr Tony Lee and Mr Chen Chao, both of whom have extensive expertise in rail operations and maintenance;

• Mr Chew Tai Chong, who has expertise in rail system engineering and train design

• Professor Gan Hiong Yap, who has expertise in railway engineering

• Professor Manoj Gupta, an expert in material science with a background in mechanical engineering

In a Facebook post, SMRT said it will also review the incident and has established a committee to do so, in accordance with its internal policy.

The committee will be chaired by SMRT independent board member and former chief defence scientist, Mr Quek Gim Pew. Another independent board member, Mr Ng Chin Hwee, who is also the former CEO of SIA Engineering Company, will serve as deputy chairman.

The committee will also include independent panel members, added SMRT.

The disruption began on the morning of Sep 25 after a faulty train caused a power trip and damage to the track and other equipment.

A defective component known as an axle box had dropped from the train onto the tracks, causing a bogie - or an undercarriage with wheels - to come off the running rail between Dover and Clementi stations.

This resulted in extensive damage to the tracks and other equipment. Engineers also found damage to power cables, the third rail that supplies power and three machines used to divert trains to different tracks.

Full restoration of services, initially planned for the following Monday, had to be pushed back by a day after new cracks appeared on repaired rail segments during stress tests.

The 12 new cracks came on top of the 34 that had first developed along a 1.6km stretch between Dover and Clementi MRT stations. 

For almost a week, MRT services were disrupted between nine stations from Boon Lay to Queenstown, with the stretch between Jurong East and Buona Vista the most severely affected.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mrt-east-west-line-disruption-lta-investigation-4654356

MRT TEL train fault between Woodlands North & Lentor, free regular bus service activated

On Oct.1 , the Thomson-East Coast line experienced a train fault, reported by SMRT's social media at 5:11pm.

The fault resulted in a shuttle train service being made available between Woodlands North and Woodlands South, as well as between Woodlands South and Lentor at 5:11pm on Oct. 1.

At the time of writing, provisory service is available between Lentor and Bayshore.

SMRT is also providing a free regular bus service between Woodlands North and Lentor.

At 4:56pm on Oct. 1, SMRT reported that trains moving from Woodlands North towards Lentor were moving slower, cautioning riders to expect an additional 10 minutes of travel time.

East-West Line MRT services to fully resume on Oct 1; westbound trains to run at slower speeds

SINGAPORE – Train services along the East-West Line will resume fully on Oct 1 from the start of passenger service hours, six days after rail services between Jurong East and Buona Vista MRT stations were crippled because of severe track damage.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT said on the evening of Sept 30 that for safety reasons, a temporary speed limit of 40kmh – down from the usual 60kmh to 80kmh – will be imposed on westbound trains travelling on the repaired sections of the tracks.

The speed restriction will be in place until Oct 3, and is part of the standard process after rail replacements, they added.

“We advise commuters who are travelling to the west on the East-West Line to plan for an additional five minutes of travel time,” said LTA and SMRT.

They said their engineers and technicians had late on Sept 29 replaced 10 rail segments on which 12 new cracks were discovered.

Comprehensive testing of the track and trackside equipment was done for passenger safety.

These tests comprised functional and safety tests on the track, power supply and train signalling systems. The tracks were also subjected to load tests and ultrasound checks, followed by endurance runs using passenger trains loaded with sandbags to simulate a packed train.

The disruption has affected about 2.1 million passengers so far.

On the morning of Sept 30, LTA said that all affected rail segments, where 46 rail fractures such as cracks or chips were found – have been replaced. These spanned 2.55km of tracks. The third rail – which supplies power to trains – has also been restored.

SMRT also said its engineers had completed ultrasonic testing of welds, which refers to the inspection of welding by measuring the reflection of high-frequency sound waves.

SMRT had earlier aimed to restart services on Sept 30, but stress tests on Sept 28 found 12 cracks that were previously not visible on unreplaced segments of rail.

This meant that engineers had to replace another 10 segments of rail along the westbound track from Clementi to Ulu Pandan Depot, delaying the resumption of train services till Oct 1.

The faulty first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries train, which has been in service for more than 35 years, was travelling eastwards when it encountered a fault near Clementi station at about 9am on Sept 25.

It was later turned around near Queenstown station onto the westbound track, bound for Ulu Pandan Depot.

As it was being withdrawn, a defective component on the train’s undercarriage – known as an axle box – dropped onto the tracks near Dover station, and this caused the wheels of the undercarriage to run off the rail.

This wrought extensive damage to the tracks and trackside equipment as the train was being taken to the depot.

The damage triggered a power trip that stalled other trains and crippled services. The train also damaged three point machines, stretches of the third rail, as well as power cables and rail fasteners.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/east-west-line-mrt-services-to-fully-resume-on-oct-1-westbound-trains-will-run-at-slower-speeds

Even IKEA also suan siao ASS-MRT lol

Full resumption of MRT East-West Line delayed due to new cracks appearing during final checks

The MRT disruption on the East-West Line (EWL) is set to continue into a sixth day on Monday (Sept 30), after stress tests on Saturday night saw new cracks appearing.

Full train services are now targeted to be restored on Tuesday, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT in a joint briefing on Sunday.

Train services on the western side of EWL have been disrupted since Wednesday, after a faulty train caused a power trip.

The initial target was Monday, but during the stress tests, 12 new rail cracks appeared on unreplaced rail segments along a different 800m stretch between Clementi station and Ulu Pandan Depot.

LTA and SMRT said these 10 segments had been weakened by Wednesday morning's faulty train.

Therefore, an extra day will be needed for the segments to be replaced, before more stress tests tomorrow - including using trains filled with sandbags to simulate real-world conditions - to ensure the MRT's safety.

"We thank commuters for your patience as we work on restoring our MRT system," said Lam Sheau Kai, president of SMRT Trains.

"The safety of our staff and commuters is our topmost priority. We seek your understanding as we continue to work closely with LTA to restore train service."

Free regular and bridging bus services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations, as well as shuttle train services between Boon Lay and Jurong East stations, and between Queenstown and Buona Vista stations, remain available for commuters.

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat also shared the update on Facebook.

“Weather permitting, we expect the rail replacements to be completed tonight, followed by further testing to continue for most of tomorrow,” he added.

In a Facebook post on Saturday evening, SMRT had said that works on the damaged tracks and related equipment between Dover and Clementi stations were "fully completed".

The whole of Sunday would see functional and safety tests, including running trains on the tracks at different speeds.

The three damaged track point machines - which direct trains onto different tracks - and other rail equipment had been successfully recovered and passed functionality checks earlier on Friday.

Train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations have been suspended since Wednesday morning, after a component of a faulty train's wheel structure came off near Dover station while on its way to the depot.

This caused some wheels on the third carriage to drop out of position, which led to 34 rail breaks along a 1.6km stretch and a 150m stretch of track.

It also led to a power trip, disrupting train services from Boon Lay to Queenstown stations.

https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/full-resumption-mrt-east-west-line-delayed-due-new-cracks-appearing-during-final-checks

Train disruption on EWL to go into third day; LTA, SMRT aim to partially restore services on Sept 27

SINGAPORE – 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.

A bogie is a structure below the train carriage with two sets of wheels. Each wheel set has two axle boxes attached to it.

With one bogie derailed, the train – which has been in service for more than 35 years – damaged the tracks and equipment on the tracks as it was being withdrawn from service.

This caused a power trip at around 9.25am, disrupting train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations.

Engineers found a total of 34 rail breaks, such as cracks or chips, along 1.6km of tracks between Clementi and Dover stations after overnight checks. The train also damaged three point machines that are used to divert the train to different tracks, stretches of the third rail which supplies power to trains, as well as power cables and rail clips.

Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat, who is in China on a work trip, said engineers from LTA and SMRT have been working through the night to assess the damaged tracks and equipment and carry out repairs.

“As the damage is very extensive, they need more time to complete the repairs and then... carry out tests and checks to ensure commuter safety before fully restoring train services,” he said in a video message posted on Facebook.

Mr Chee added: “I would like to offer my sincere apologies to all our commuters for the disruption. Our workers are doing their best to safely restore train services as soon as possible.”

LTA and SMRT added that SMRT’s engineers and technicians have been working continuously since Sept 25 to restore and replace the damaged tracks and equipment.

The shuttle service between Jurong East and Buona Vista will ply only along the eastbound track, which is less severely damaged and requires fewer repairs than the westbound track.

Besides this service, SMRT will continue to operate shuttle train services between Buona Vista and Queenstown stations, and between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations.

About 80 double-deck buses have been deployed to provide free bridging services for affected commuters in both directions between Jurong East and Buona Vista.

In addition, 620 ground staff from LTA, SMRT, transport operators SBS Transit and Tower Transit as well as police officers helped manage the crowds during the morning peak period on Sept 26.

LTA and SMRT also carried out functionality checks on the axle boxes of all Kawasaki trains before these were put in service, and all passed the checks.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/train-disruption-on-ewl-to-go-into-third-day-lta-smrt-aim-to-partially-restore-services-on-sept-27

CHT has said sorlee:

Commuters cope with rain, longer journeys on day 2 of East-West Line MRT disruption

SINGAPORE: Many commuters face another challenging journey on Thursday (Sep 26), with train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations still unavailable as the disruption that started on Wednesday enters a second day.

In updates on Thursday morning, operator SMRT said that shuttle train services are available between Boon Lay and Jurong East, as well as between Queenstown and Buona Vista stations.

SMRT also said in its updates that free regular bus services are available between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations and that bridging bus services are available between Jurong East and Buona Vista.

The transport operator also encouraged commuters to look out for people with special needs.

In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) thanked commuters for their patience during the peak hour commute, which coincided with rain.

It added that it had been working closely with SMRT, SBS Transit and Tower Transit to provide bus bridging services and on-ground crowd management.

"We kindly urge commuters to remain patient and maintain orderliness while waiting for the buses as we continue working on our recovery efforts," said LTA.

A lot more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/east-west-line-mrt-disruption-jurong-east-buona-vista-day-2-4637211