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Evening peak-hour train delays on North-South Line lasted over 2 hours

SINGAPORE — A signalling fault near Ang Mo Kio MRT Station caused train service delays on the North-South Line during rush hour on Thursday (Aug 17) evening, with some passengers stuck on trains for 40 minutes.

A crowd of commuters at Raffles Place MRT station waiting for the train. A signalling fault near Ang Mo Kio MRT station has caused rush-hour delays on the North-South Line on Thursday (Aug 17). Photo: Alicia Wong

A crowd of commuters at Raffles Place MRT station waiting for the train. A signalling fault near Ang Mo Kio MRT station has caused rush-hour delays on the North-South Line on Thursday (Aug 17). Photo: Alicia Wong

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SINGAPORE — A signalling fault near Ang Mo Kio MRT Station caused train service delays on the North-South Line during rush hour on Thursday (Aug 17) evening, with some passengers stuck on trains for 40 minutes.

Transport operator SMRT put out a tweet at around 6.20pm, advising those commuting between Yishun and Marina South Pier stations to be prepared for delays of about 20 minutes.

By 7pm, commuters were told to brace for delays of up to 40 minutes, with free regular buses available from stations between Ang Mo Kio and Marina South Pier.

Train services returned to normal frequency more than two hours later at 8.15pm.

Commuters at Raffles Place waiting for their train service. Photo: Alicia Wong

Commuters who posted on social media said that they were stuck onboard stationary trains for at least 15 minutes.

Music teacher Irwin Fua, 30, told TODAY that the train he was on came to a halt between Ang Mo Kio and Bishan stations.

“I boarded the train at Ang Mo Kio at about 6pm. The train stopped shortly after pulling away from the station and did not move for nearly 40 minutes. I finally reached Novena station at 7pm.”

In a Facebook post, SMRT said that there was a fault in the signalling unit along the tracks near Ang Mo Kio station, which occurred at 5.35pm. This affected signalling communication to the trains.

“Trains came to a halt momentarily, but service later continued with trains travelling at slow speeds between Ang Mo Kio and Bishan stations for safety reasons,” it explained, apologising for the service disruption.

A team of engineers were then sent to look into the problem.

“Our engineers continue to closely monitor the system for the rest of the night, and investigation works will continue after service hours,” SMRT said on Facebook.

Commuters who posted on social media said they were stuck on board stationary trains in the middle of the track for more than 15 minutes.

A reader, Mr Irwin Isaiah Fua, said his train came to a halt between Ang Mo Kio and Bishan.

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