Lightning strike possible cause of North-South Line disruption

SINGAPORE — Lightning may have been the cause of a nearly hour-long service disruption along the North-South Line on Wednesday (May 11) afternoon,

“At 3.46pm today, it was suspected that lightning struck a location between Yio Chu Kang and Khatib station along the North-South Line,” 

Mr Patrick Nathan, vice-president of corporate information and communications at SMRT, said. “This may have caused a train fault, affecting commuters travelling towards Yio Chu Kang station.”

He added that commuters on the affected train got off safely at Yio Chu Kang station, and the train was withdrawn from service. No passengers were hurt during the incident.

As a precaution, engineers also tested trackside equipment to ensure that it was safe for trains to move over the affected area, he said. Train service to Yio Chu Kang resumed its scheduled frequency at about 4.35pm.

“SMRT would like to reassure all our commuters that our trains are designed to protect them in severe weather conditions,” Mr Nathan said.

While service ground to a temporary halt on the North-South Line, the Downtown Line marked its 200th day without disruption yesterday. 

In a Facebook post last night, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that he celebrated the milestone with employees from the Downtown Line (DTL). The rail line, which started its first-stage operations in 2013 and its second stage in December last year, had a breakdown on May 3, but service resumed within 30 minutes. 

“This is the threshold for classifying delays as major disruptions, and an indicator that other systems use, too,” Mr Khaw said, adding that the milestone was “hard-earned”.

Previously, the North-South Line, which opened its first section in 1987, had crossed the 100-day mark, but service was disrupted six days later on April 25. 

While acknowledging that disruptions were inevitable and adding that Hong Kong had 12 in 2014, Mr Khaw said: “To close the gap with Hong Kong on this metric, we need all our five MRT lines to achieve at least the 150-day milestone; yes, all five of them. Right now, only DTL qualifies ... Our gap with Hong Kong is still wide.”

In setting a new target of 250 disruption-free days for the DTL, Mr Khaw said the milestones were meant to track progress and nudge everyone towards a goal. 

“Working day-in, day-out in the trenches exerts tremendous pressure on our public transport workers. We need to keep the spirit up and morale high. Every little achievement helps,” he said.