“How SMRT justify their price increase?” — Singaporeans stressed with train fault along East-West Line; teacher gets stuck 1 day before PSLE

SINGAPORE: A teacher who had difficulties getting to work this morning (Sept 25) took to social media to vent some stress, especially since it was the last day before the PSLE English exams tomorrow for his Primary 6 students.

In a post on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page, Mr Sean Saravanan wrote that he was set to have a particularly tight schedule today.

He was already en route to his first class when, unfortunately, there was a train fault along the Green Line towards Jurong East, which meant Mr Saravanan got stuck between stations. Passengers on the train could not get out and had to wait.

The teacher also wrote that they were all eventually asked to alight at Dover Station. “In Grab now otw to lesson. Oh God!” he added.

It has been a hard day for commuters on the East-West Line all day today due to the disruption in services between the Boon Lay and Queenstown stations beginning from 9:30 am.

When asked by a commenter why he was starting so late, Mr Saravanan said there were no regular classes for PSLE takers from Monday through today, only remedial lessons.

The Independent Singapore has contacted Mr Saravanan for further comments.

“A KHI train that has been in service for over 35 years encountered a fault, emitting smoke while returning to Ulu Pandan Depot. This caused damage to the power cable and resulted in a power trip, disrupting train service between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations,” SMRT said.

The Boon Lay, Lakeside, Chinese Garden, Jurong East, Clementi, Dover, Buona Vista, Commonwealth and Queenstown stations were all affected by the train fault. People have been posting photos of long lines at MRT stations over social media all day.

The SMRT provided free regular bus and bridging bus services between Boon Lay and Queenstown.

The Land Transportation Authority said in a statement that train services would not be available on the EWL between the two stations for at least the rest of the day in both directions.

Two other disruptions to train services occurred on Sept 17 and 18, making today the third for this month.

An irate local Reddit user posted a photo of a crowded train.

“How does SMRT justify their price increase? I assume by not acknowledging there’s ever a delay. They’ve been saying ‘expect a 5-minute delay’ for the past 20 minutes now,” they wrote.

The Independent Singapore has contacted Mr Saravanan for further comments. /TISG

Read also: “My fellow passengers and I are sweating buckets” — Train user asks if SMRT is “skimping on aircon” to cut cost