Service was disrupted between Queenstown and Bugis MRT stations in both directions on the East-West Line (EWL) for about half an hour from 11:30am on Tuesday (25th July). Operator SMRT announced that the closure is to allow workers to fix a loose panel, which was found to be the cause of this morning's power trips along the North-South and East-West Lines. The glitch led to delays across the network, which were aggravated later by a track circuit fault on the EWL.
"Engineers have traced the (power) fault to a loose panel next to the tracks in the tunnel near Tiong Bahru MRT station," SMRT said on its Facebook page. "As engineers require track access to remove the panel, traction power needs to be turned off for safety." Free regular bus services will be available from affected stations for commuters as alternative travel during this time. "We are very sorry for the inconvenience," the operator said.
In a tweet at 7:26am, SMRT said trains are running at longer intervals due to 'intermittent power fault'. "Crowds expected at station," it added. But commuters started complaining about the fault from as early as 6:20am, with several saying that they were stuck at Lakeside MRT station. Gene Lee tweeted, "Hey SMRT, why are you keeping quiet on the power traction fault on EWL? If you had tweeted it, I would have taken a cab and not be late for work."
The EWL was also hit by a track circuit fault at Commonwealth station later in the morning, with SMRT tweeting at 8:51am to warn of delays of up to 15 minutes for commuters travelling from Joo Koon to Commonwealth station. It subsequently revised the estimate to 20 minutes at 9:33am. Commuters who responded to the tweets, however, said the delay was at least 30 minutes. A power fault last occurred on 12th July, affecting train services on both lines late at night.
Last Friday, a signalling fault caused trains to stop in between stations for over 15 minutes on the Circle Line around 10:00pm. Temporary clamps, which came loose near Choa Chu Kang station on the North-South Line (NSL), also caused delays earlier that day. SMRT has not offered explanation for these glitches, but emphasised they were not related to the new signalling system on the NSL.
