Signalling fault causes delay on North-South Line early Friday morning

Commuters were hit by another round of train delays early Friday morning following a two-hour delay during the evening peak hour the day before.

At 6:30am, SMRT tweeted that an additional 45 minutes of travelling time was needed between Marina South Pier and Sembawang on the North-South Line due to a signalling fault. It later advised commuters to take other MRT lines or seek alternative transport towards the city area.

Meanwhile, SBS Transit tweeted at 6:25am that there was no service on the Downtown Line due to a signalling fault. It later said at 7:00am that service has resumed but to expect additional travelling time.

Commuters travelling on the North-South Line on Thursday were stranded after a signalling fault on the 30-year old line caused delays for two hours during the evening peak period.

At 6:18pm, SMRT first cautioned commuters to expect an additional 20 minutes of travelling time between the Yishun and Marina South Pier stations, due to a fault with the new signalling system near Ang Mo Kio. Nearly half an hour later, the additional travelling time was updated to 25 minutes. This was further increased to 40 minutes at 7:00pm. Train services were back to normal at 8:15pm.

Though Thursday evening's delays were said to be on the 16-station stretch between Yishun and Marina South Pier, commuters complained of delays affecting the entire 44km-long rail line.

SMRT said a signalling unit along the tracks near Ang Mo Kio experienced a fault at about 5:35pm, affecting signalling communication to trains. "A joint team of engineers are working to rectify the signalling fault on the North-South Line," it later said, and advised commuters to travel on other lines or make alternative transport arrangements. It said, "Our engineers continue to closely monitor the system for the rest of the night, and investigation works will continue after service hours."