SINGAPORE: The six-day ordeal for commuters who regularly take the East-West Line (EWL) is finally over as of Tuesday (Oct 1), with the full resumption of train services.
Commuters cheered and thanked the engineers who worked round the clock on repairs on one of Singapore’s most widely used train lines, with some even suggesting they deserved bonuses.
Shortly before 7:00 pm on Monday (Sept 30), SMRT said that train services between Buona Vista and Jurong East stations would resume on Oct 1, with the completion of restoration works on the EWL.
It added, however, that trains between Dover and Clementi stations would run at a lower speed of 40 km per hour from Oct 1 to 3 for the sake of commuters’ safety.
This is part of the standard operating procedure following extensive works on the running rails, SMRT explained, adding an advisory to commuters travelling to the west on the EWL to plan for an additional five minutes of travel time.
On Sept 25, train services were halted between the Jurong East and Buona Vista stations. SMRT explained that a KHI train in service for more than 35 years encountered a fault and emitted smoke en route to the Ulu Pandan Depot.
This resulted in damage to the power cable and caused a power trip. Shuttle train and bus services were provided to help thousands of commuters out.
SMRT initially announced that train services would resume on Sept 30 (Monday), but on Sept 29, it said more time was needed for checks to ensure commuter safety.
Local Reddit users commenting on the news that train services had fully resumed rejoiced, quite naturally and understandably, as this meant their commute home would go back to normal.
“WOOOOO, finally! Really thankful to those who helped with the repairs!” one wrote.
“All the bonuses of the top brass better go to the engineers…,” was one popular suggestion with other Reddit users.
Many thanked the people who had worked on fixing the problem: the engineers, workers, and technicians, as well as the bridging bus drivers and the staff who helped commuters at the stations. Some noted how patient and ground staff had been.
“Very grateful for the train engineers working through the nights and the weekend to get the trains up and running again,” another wrote.
A number of commenters even joked that they heard someone fall to his knees at Boon Lay Station. /TISG
Read related: Chee Hong Tat: 300 engineers & technicians are working on East-West line repairs