Some trains along the Circle Line (CCL) stalled after the MRT line’s power supply was disrupted by a power trip at around 8pm on Sep. 18. Lighting within the trains was affected as well, said SMRT in a Facebook post published at 9:45pm.
Power trip caused by fire
According to SMRT, the power trip resulted from a fire that broke out in “one of the power system cubicles at Kim Chuan Depot”. “The fire was promptly extinguished by our engineers on site. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was also activated, and we restored power supply by 8:10pm,” the post read. All trains resumed movement, and normal services resumed at around 8:15pm, added SMRT. “We sincerely apologise for the disruption to your journey this evening,” wrote the company.
Passengers affected
A Xiaohongshu user who was travelling on CCL said that she had just arrived at Caldecott station when “the light and air-conditioning on her train suddenly turned off”. “More passengers kept boarding the train. I thought about yesterday’s situation and decided to take a taxi home without hesitation,” she wrote in the post caption. A commenter in the post’s comments section also shared that she and her fellow passengers “were asked to alight the train at Holland Village”. “I could only take the bus instead. I can’t deal with this anymore,” the commenter added. Another Xiaohongshu user also posted a photo showing long queues forming at Bishan station at around 8:15pm.
Similar incident on Sep. 17
The disruption along CCL took place just one day after a traction power trip brought 11 trains to a halt in the CCL tunnels on Sep. 17 evening. Commuters who contacted Fathership about the disruption shared that they were stuck on the trains for roughly 20 to 30 minutes. In a Sep. 18 Facebook post, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the Sep. 17 power outage lasted for 15 minutes from 5:50pm to 6:05pm. During the outage, the trains’ onboard batteries provided partial lighting and ventilation without air-conditioning, according to LTA. “After the power was restored, SMRT staff had to manually recover these trains and all were driven to the next station by 6:30pm. Consequently, journeys were delayed by about 30 minutes,” the post read. LTA added that it will “investigate into the cause of the traction power trip” and “assess the adequacy of SMRT’s service recovery measures”.
Ongoing concerns about Circle Line reliability
The recent incidents have raised concerns about the reliability of the Circle Line. Commuters have expressed frustration over the repeated disruptions, questioning the robustness of the power systems in place. SMRT and LTA have assured the public that thorough investigations are underway to determine the root causes of both incidents. Future measures will be implemented to prevent similar occurrences and improve the overall reliability of the Circle Line services.
