Following the MRT disruption that began on Wednesday (Sep. 25), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and SMRT have reported “extensive damage” to the track and trackside equipment after engineers worked through the night. Consequently, regular train services on the East-West Line (EWL) between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations will not resume on Friday (Sep. 27). Instead, a single-line train shuttle service will run every 20 minutes between these stations. Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat stated on Sep. 26 that due to the extensive damage, more time is required to complete repairs and ensure commuter safety before fully restoring train services.
Damage across 1.6km of tracks
The disruption began on the morning of Sep. 25 when a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train, in service for over 35 years, developed a fault. As it was being withdrawn, it damaged the tracks, including the running rails and the third rail that supplies power to the train. Investigations by LTA and SMRT revealed that a defective train axle box dropped from the KHI train, causing the wheels of a bogie to come off the running rail between Dover and Clementi stations. This led to 34 rail breaks across 1.6km of tracks.
SMRT’s Chairman Seah Moon Ming and Group CEO Ngien Hoon Ping explained, “A defective train axle box on one of our first-generation trains dropped and caused the wheels of a bogie to come off the running rail and hit track equipment, including the third rail and point machines, leading to the power fault.” Additionally, the incident caused damage to three-point machines used to divert the train to different tracks, as well as the third rail, power cables, and rail clips.
Still ongoing
LTA shared that SMRT engineers and technicians have been working continuously to restore and replace the track and trackside equipment. All KHI trains currently in service have passed their axle box functionality checks. To mitigate the disruption, 80 double-deck buses have been deployed for free bridging services between Buona Vista and Jurong East, and 620 ground staff from LTA, SMRT, SBS, Tower Transit, and police officers have been managing the crowds since the morning peak period.
“LTA and SMRT’s priority is to resume train service as soon as possible, and we will provide further updates,” stated the authorities. Minister Chee emphasised that the authorities will “look for ways to cushion and mitigate the impact on affected commuters on the ground.” He added, “On behalf of the One Transport family, I would like to offer my sincere apologies to all our commuters for the disruption. Our workers are doing their best to safely restore train services as soon as possible.”
Related stories
For more information on the extent of the damage and ongoing efforts to restore services, you can refer to the following sources:
- What’s the extent of the damage to EWL that may take days to fix?
- EWL not resuming regular service on Sep. 27, overnight checks revealed ‘extensive damage’: LTA, SMRT
- Speaking to the media late on Sep. 26 along the tracks of the EWL at Clementi, Chee highlighted the extent of the damage and the workers’ need to do the repair work carefully, which requires a lot
- Regular services on the East-West Line may be disrupted for days. Transport minister Chee Hong Tat said more time is needed for repairs and to carry out tests and checks before fully restoring
