MRT Breakdown Bingo: Commuters turn train faults into a game after Sept 1 & 2 disruptions

SINGAPORE: A local Reddit user is poking fun at recent train faults, posting “MRT Breakdown Bingo” cards on the platform for the month of September, with the two spaces for the Circle Line (CCL) and the North-South Line (NSL) already crossed off.

On Monday (Sept 1), the Circle Line (CCL) was affected by a disruption between the Marina Bay and Promenade stations that lasted 40 minutes.

“We apologise for the disruption during the morning peak commute and sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding,” Lam Sheau Kai, the president of SMRT Trains, said in a Facebook post.

On the evening of Sept 2, commuters on the NSL faced another delay, with the stations of Woodlands, Admiralty, Sembawang, Canberra, and Yishun affected by another disruption. Mr Lam again apologised and assured commuters that free bus services had been provided between Woodlands and Yishun stations at designated bus stops.

And while the idea of MRT Breakdown Bingo is humorous, the increased frequency of train disruptions has caused no small degree of unhappiness for many Singaporeans. In the first three months of 2025, there were five major train disruptions, including three that happened from Feb 7 to 11. Disgruntled commuters have had to deal with delays, crowded trains, and having to factor in additional time on their way to or from work.

“My train stopped 3 times between Queenstown and Tiong Bahru, we had to alight at Redhill in between to wait for the next train, cuz someone tried to pry open the door/activate the emergency button. Ppl were yelling at him /videoing, and the MRT staff escorted him out at Tiong Bahru,” wrote a Reddit user on the first day that u/goldenpummel posted the first Breakdown Bingo card.

“The random delays make this almost too easy,” observed another.

And when u/goldenpummel posted the second one on Sept 3, a commenter wrote, “Making good progress. Only Sept 3 and we cross off two already.”

While one commenter said that the bingo card should be sent to Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow, another wrote, “This should be the transport minister KPI, bingo = step down.”

One jokingly began to predict that the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) would be next.

However, another Reddit user wrote, “While this looks like a joke… if before the end of the month this is filled up fully beyond BINGO, and each occurrence can be tracked to a certain day, it’s gonna look damning to SMRT sia.” /TISG

Read also: SMRT fined S$3M for September’s train disruption; funds to help low-income families