Downtown Line 3 makes grim debut as commuters experience train delays on opening day

Commuters who were hoping that they would not experience service disruptions on the brand new Downtown Line 3 (DTL3) were sorely disappointed. Several commuters reported experiencing delays on the line that opened to the public today, following a soft launch last week and an official opening ceremony last night.

Commuters who tried out the line during the soft launch also experienced train delays and were eventually instructed to alight trains and board bridging buses that were deployed to assist inconvenienced commuters.

It is believed that the disruptions on the DTL3 today were caused by a train fault and that the defective train was subsequently pushed out.

Several commuters travelling on various stations on the line, including Bedok North and Mattar stations, were affected by this disruption. Some posted that they were delayed for at least 5 minutes while others reported being stuck for about 30 minutes.

Jeremy Chua, a 28-year-old operations executive, told reporters that the train had stopped at Promenade station and only moved after 20 minutes. Another commuter, Facebook user Mark Chung wrote:

“After some delay (due to train fault), took me 25 minutes to get from sixth avenue to bt panjang. (Usual time is 10 to 15 minutes)”

25-year-old student Lim Yu Ke reported that he was delayed for about 30 minutes, as he was making his way to Tampines from Jalan Besar on the Downtown Line around 2pm.

Lim, who was looking forward to a faster journey with the DTL3, said that the train he was on stopped for about five minutes per station from Kaki Bukit to Tampines.

“The journey from Jalan Besar to Tampines was supposed to be 19 minutes, (but the) delays started from Kaki Bukit.

“I would still prefer to use buses running on the expressway for faster journeys. At least they’re more reliable than the trains.”

Several others reported DTL3 delays they experienced today on social media:

DOWNtownline (yes it’s down) @ Tan Kah Kee. #PSA #DTL3

— B Lim (@benitalyh) October 21, 2017

not a good first day on the extended #DowntownLine : train halted due to track fault despite weeks of late Sunday starts.

— Patchouli Woollahra (@PatchouliW) October 21, 2017

dahaym downtownline gonna benefit my life so much if it stays consistent and not breakdown so much

— Flutterby Boy (@Mirzashraaf) October 21, 2017

Erm DTL3 train heading Expo is not moving

— レオン (@iamleonwei) October 21, 2017

First day of DTL3, what a disappointment. Control center working half day ah

— Rohayat (@rohxyxt) October 21, 2017

#DTL3 At lesst 3 times the train stop for 3-5 minutes from Chinatown to UPPER Changi. It is free but not a smooth journey

— Mark Sie (@siehs02) October 21, 2017

Train fault on the new DTL3 line. At Promenade station

— Rajiv Menon (@RajivMenon1980) October 21, 2017

DTL3 first day run pause @ Bencoolen for how long? Waiting ….

— Dont Do (@Derenlu) October 21, 2017

https://theindependent.sg.sg/breaking-downtown-line-3-suffers-track-fault-on-first-day-of-soft-launch/