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Stranded passengers on North East Line train evacuated through tunnel

SINGAPORE — A major disruption on a section of the North East Line (NEL) during evening peak hours yesterday led to hundreds of stranded passengers being evacuated through the tunnel, causing frayed tempers and chaotic scenes at some of the affected stations.

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SINGAPORE — A major disruption on a section of the North East Line (NEL) during evening peak hours yesterday led to hundreds of stranded passengers being evacuated through the tunnel, causing frayed tempers and chaotic scenes at some of the affected stations.

Crowds of commuters had to wait for bus bridging services in the open during a period that saw severe haze shrouding the country.

The poor handling of the two-hour breakdown by NEL operator SBS Transit (SBST) drew a rebuke from Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.

Noting the “unacceptably long period” in which the passengers were stranded on the stalled train before they were detrained, Mr Lui wrote on Facebook: “I know that this must be a frustrating and uncomfortable experience for affected commuters who are trying to get home or to their destination. The whole situation was also made much worse by the haze.”

He added: “I am dismayed at how this incident was managed by SBST. Commuters expect and deserve better ... SBST (and SMRT) must learn from this and be better prepared. I expect them to manage incidents of this nature much better in the future.”

The south-bound service between Punggol and Woodleigh MRT stations froze for over two hours, between 6.15pm and 8.32pm, after repeated “push-out” rescue operation attempts — where one train pushes another to the nearest station — failed to budge a train that stalled as it was approaching Hougang MRT Station.

The 250 or so passengers on board were eventually detrained and asked to walk through the underground tunnel to Hougang MRT Station. North-bound commuters had to continue their journey from Woodleigh MRT Station.

But shuttle buses deployed to the affected stations arrived in a sparse manner, causing scores of upset commuters to pool and spill onto the roads in the heavy smog.

When TODAY visited Woodleigh MRT Station last night, some of the stranded commuters said they had been waiting for over 45 minutes for the shuttle bus.

A quantity surveyor, who only wanted to be known as Mr Saw, 46, said he had seen only two shuttle buses despite waiting for “at least 45 minutes now”, although the SBST had promised regular buses. “They gave us false hope,” he said.

In a statement, SBST said 85 shuttle buses were activated to serve the affected stations, “although many were delayed en route to the affected stations due to massive traffic jams along the way”.

Dozens among the crowd slapped makeshift masks onto their faces because of the haze, which registered a PSI reading of 190 at 8pm.

Others said there were no clear signs directing commuters out of the station, leading to considerable confusion and chaos.

SBST said it had deployed close to 90 Goodwill Ambassadors at the seven affected stations to assist commuters. It added: “We deeply apologise to all affected passengers for the distress and inconvenience caused, especially given the current haze situation.”

Over at Serangoon MRT Station, marketing executive Elvis Chiu, 29, said the bus lanes were jammed with vehicles, which prevented the shuttle buses from turning in.

Assistant editor Suhas Bhat, 25, said he saw “about 200” people milling around outside Nex mall. He said he did not hear any announcements on the availability of shuttle bus services at Serangoon MRT Station, adding that “the new (upcoming train) lines cannot come soon enough”.

Eugene Neubronner

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