Track fault on North-South Line causes rush-hour delays

SINGAPORE — A track fault caused delays of up to 20 minutes on the North-South Line during the morning rush-hour on Tuesday (Aug 30), resulting in overcrowded trains and stations, and longer commutes. 
Trains ran at significantly slower speeds for about three hours, and regular services resumed at 9.10am.

Over at the Circle Line, the intermittent signalling issues that triggered delays on Monday continued to affect operations on Tuesday, with commuters advised to expect up to 10 minutes of extra travelling time.

The trip-up on the North-South Line was traced to track-side signalling equipment “near Choa Chu Kang”, transport operator SMRT said, adding that it was investigating the problem.  

SMRT first tweeted at 6.08am that the fault had crippled train services from the Yew Tee to Bukit Gombak stations, and announced that free regular bus services were available. Although train services resumed about 15 minutes later, Mr Patrick Nathan, SMRT’s vice-president of corporate information and communications, said that trains had to be driven manually at 18kmh through the affected stretch for the safety of passengers. 

Given that this was down from the usual train speed of 60 to 80kmh, it resulted in slower journeys for commuters and led to congestion in trains and stations, adding up to 20 minutes of extra travelling time between the Woodlands and Jurong East stops. 

Pictures posted on Twitter showed stations overrun with commuters and snaking queues on platforms, frustrating commuters who were starting their day.

Ms Charissa Kow, 23, said that her usual 30-minute journey from Admiralty to Jurong East took at least 40 to 45 minutes early Tuesday morning. “(The train) was moving very slowly the whole time,” the management trainee said.

Twitter user Sephblue said that trains, which were arriving at five-minute intervals, were full, resulting in a half-hour wait to board one, and another 30 minutes to get from the Yishun to Bishan stations. 

Another Twitter user Richard Jang said that there was a “massive human jam” at the entrance and platforms of Yishun MRT Station. “I survived the trip,” he added.  

Michelle Lim tweeted that the train she was on was “packed like sardines”, while another Twitter user Charlotte said that the queue at the station where she was at had extended to the “opposite side of the MRT platform”.

The delays on the North-South Line also forced Singapore Polytechnic to push back the first of three examination sessions on Tuesday by 15 minutes — from 9am to 9.15am — to allow students to arrive on time. 

“The 15-minute grace period was sufficient for students to report on time for their exams,” a spokesperson from the polytechnic said.

At Nanyang Polytechnic, seven students arrived late for their 9am exams, but they produced slips from SMRT explaining the hold-up and were given “the full duration of the exam time”, its spokesperson said. 

The fault on the Circle Line that affected services was linked to wireless communication between the signalling equipment on the train and those on the track. The problem has not been resolved yet. “SMRT has been carrying out tests and investigations overnight into the signalling issues ... (and) is working with the LTA (Land Transport Authority) and the contractor to rectify the issue as soon as possible,” SMRT’s Mr Nathan said.