SMRT Trains president apologises for 40-min North-South Line disruption on 14 Sept due to train fault

SINGAPORE: After the second disruption to rail services on the North-South Line (NSL) within two weeks, the president of SMRT Trains, Lam Sheau Kai, issued a public apology on social media on Sunday (Sep 14).

The train fault occurred shortly after 11:30 am on Sunday between the Newton and Ang Mo Kio stations, towards Jurong East, on the North-South Line. Commuters were alerted by SMRT at 11:44 am, advising them to expect an additional 25 minutes of travel time between the two stations.

Free regular bus services were deployed to help affected passengers at 11:51 am.

By 12:02 pm, however, SMRT advised commuters to consider alternative travel options. Passengers were advised to take the Thomson-East Coast Line at Orchard station or the Downtown Line at Newton station. SMRT also said commuters could log on to the LTA MyTransport App and use the “Find My Way” function as they continued their journey.

A subsequent update at 12:14 p.m. maintained that the delay would continue, but reassured commuters that bridging buses were still in operation.

By 12:20 pm, normal train services were resumed.

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Apology from Mr Lam

“Our staff were immediately deployed to rectify the fault. After commuters in the faulty train were safely disembarked, the affected train was taken out of service. In-train and station announcements were made. Commuters were also advised to add up to 25 mins of train travel time. Free regular bus services were provided at designated bus stops along the affected stretch. We apologise for the delay and appreciate your patience and understanding,” the SMRT president wrote.

Train disruptions in September

September has not been kind so far to commuters, as it kicked off with two service disruptions on the first couple of days of the month. On Sep 1, the Circle Line (CCL) was affected by a disruption between the Marina Bay and Promenade stations that lasted 40 minutes. On the evening of Sep 2, commuters on the North-South Line (NSL) faced another delay, with Woodlands, Admiralty, Sembawang, Canberra and Yishun stations affected by another disruption.

Early on the morning of Sep 13 (Saturday), a systems fault occurred, disrupting LRT services at Punggol. SBS Transit provided free regular and bridging bus services to affected commuters. After about three hours, services resumed shortly after 8:00 a.m.

SBS Transit Group CEO Jeffrey Sim said that a “premature failure” in the new signalling control system was behind the system’s fault. /TISG

Read related: SBS Transit CEO Jeffrey Sim issues statement after Punggol LRT disruption