SMRT employee injured during maintenance work at Joo Koon MRT station

The start of train service between Gul Circle and Boon Lay stations on the East-West Line was delayed in both directions on Wednesday morning (12 December), after an SMRT employee was injured on the track side while carrying out maintenance work.

The train operator said in a statement on Wednesday that the staff member suffered foot injuries at about 4:10am near Joo Koon MRT station and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was activated to take him to hospital. "As this process required some time, the start of train service between Gul Circle and Boon Lay MRT stations (both bounds) had to be delayed," SMRT said.

In response to queries, an SCDF spokesman said that it responded to an incident at Joo Koon MRT station at 4:20am.

The employee was conscious when taken to the National University Hospital in an ambulance, the spokesman added. The Straits Times understands that the employee is a man in his 50s. SMRT first announced the disruption in a tweet at 4:59am.

In a tweet about 20 minutes later, it said that the accident occurred during track maintenance. Free regular and bridging bus services were available, it added. SMRT said in the statement that after the employee was taken to hospital, engineering and operations teams conducted further checks on the track before service between Gul Circle and Boon Lay MRT stations was able to start at 6:20am.

The employee is currently in a stable condition and undergoing treatment at the hospital, SMRT added. "Workplace safety is a priority for us, and we will be carrying out a full investigation into the accident," SMRT said, as it apologised to commuters who were affected during their morning commute. The train service from Boon Lay to Gul Circle, in the direction of Tuas Link, typically begins at 5:21am on weekdays, and at 5:26am from Gul Circle to Boon Lay, in the direction of Pasir Ris.