Two different MRT lines hit by breakdowns in a day

On the North-South Line (NSL), a maintenance locomotive that stalled at Raffles Place station shut down northbound train services between Marina South Pier and Newton from the start of service till about 6:50am. Just after 11:00am, a power fault disrupted train service between Outram Park and Farrer Park stations on the North-East Line (NEL) for about 40 minutes, as reported by The Straits Times.

SMRT spokesman Patrick Nathan said NSL services towards Jurong East were affected as engineering staff worked to move the stalled locomotive, which prevented northbound trains from passing through the eight-station stretch. He said a passenger train was activated to haul the faulty locomotive to Bishan Depot, and that SMRT is investigating why it stalled. He also apologised to those affected.

SMRT first sent a tweet at 6:09am to inform commuters about the disruption, which lasted for about an hour. Train service resumed along the affected stretch at around 6:53am.

Yesterday's disruption came just two days after Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan wrote in a blog post that the NSL had gone 100 days without any major delays. He had said the milestone was especially inspiring as the NSL is the oldest of Singapore's five MRT lines.

SBS Transit spokesman Tammy Tan apologised to affected commuters, and said the cause of the power fault on the NEL is being investigated. Both operators declined to provide the number of commuters affected by the delays, both of which occurred during off peak periods.