Congestion at Woodlands Checkpoint due to system slowdown, holiday crowds

SINGAPORE — An “intermittent slowdown” of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) system, combined with high traffic due to the upcoming Hari Raya Puasa holiday, led to slow passage at the Woodlands Checkpoint this morning (July 25).

The congestion led to some motorists taking to social media and calling the MediaCorp hotline to complain about the extended waiting times.

“Our system experienced intermittent slowdown between 10am and 10.45am on Friday, July 25. As the slowdown coincided with the peak period, there was crowd-build up at the Woodlands Checkpoint. More resources were immediately deployed at the Woodlands Checkpoint,” an ICA spokeperson told Channel NewsAsia.

“The ICA regrets the inconvenience caused to travellers. We take a serious view of the matter and would like to assure the public that we have put in place procedures for handling such contingencies without compromising security. ICA is investigating the cause of the system slow-down.”

The ICA also reminded motorists to expect heavy traffic at the land checkpoints due to Hari Raya Puasa. To check on the traffic situation at both land checkpoints before embarking on their journey, motorists can call the traffic information hotline at 6863-0117, listen to TrafficWatch on the radio or visit LTA’s One Motoring website or the MyTransport.SG portal.

Travellers leaving Singapore by Woodlands or the Tuas Checkpoint will be able to know in advance the traffic situation from the LTA’s Expressway Monitoring & Advisory System (EMAS), installed along the Ayer Rajah Expressway and Bukit Timah Expressway, respectively. CHANNEL NEWSASIA