25-9-2024 (SINGAPORE) A significant portion of Singapore’s East-West Line (EWL) ground to a halt on Wednesday morning, leaving thousands of commuters scrambling for alternative transport options. The disruption, which began at approximately 9:25 am, affected a stretch of nine stations between Boon Lay and Queenstown, including two major interchange stations.
Transport operator SMRT attributed the breakdown to a power fault caused by a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train that was returning to Ulu Pandan depot. The 35-year-old train reportedly experienced a malfunction, emitting smoke and triggering a power trip that led to widespread service disruption.
The incident resulted in a train near Clementi station coming to a standstill, necessitating the evacuation of around 850 passengers. SMRT staff guided commuters along the tracks back to the station platform, a process captured in images shared on social media.
An experienced that I did not want to experience but thank you @SMRT_Singapore
Being stuck on the train for 15mins is fine, but an hour???!!! Please buck up first before increasing the fare???? pic.twitter.com/CR3iHgVhto— Fittaye (@Fittaye) September 25, 2024
As the disruption stretched into hours, frustration mounted among affected travellers. Free regular and bridging bus services were hastily arranged between the affected stations, but many commuters reported confusion and long waits.
One passenger, who wished to be identified only as Mdm Tan, recounted witnessing smoke emanating from a train arriving at Clementi station shortly before the breakdown was announced. Other travellers took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to report delays ranging from 10 to 20 minutes.
The situation was further complicated by what appeared to be conflicting information regarding the nature of the fault. SMRT initially described it as a “traction power fault” before revising their statement to cite a “train fault” and finally settling on “power fault”.
At Buona Vista MRT station, one of the affected interchanges, SMRT staff were observed using loudhailers to direct passengers to shuttle buses. However, the sudden influx of displaced commuters led to overcrowding, with many forced to stand in packed buses as rain began to fall.
A 70-year-old commuter, who requested anonymity, expressed his dismay at the situation, describing it as “totally unacceptable”. The elderly gentleman, who walks with a stick and suffers from a heart condition, found himself facing a convoluted journey for what should have been a simple one-stop trip.
Another affected passenger, 27-year-old Iliyas Juanda, detailed his experience of being asked to alight at Queenstown station and navigate the ensuing chaos. He noted that while crowd control measures were initially lacking, the situation improved with the arrival of Traffic Police officers and additional staff from both SMRT and SBS Transit.
This incident marks the third significant disruption to Singapore’s MRT system in just over a week. It follows a power fault on the Circle Line on September 17th and a fire at a train depot affecting the same line the following day.
