A signal fault held up train service in both directions on the Circle Line on Wednesday (15th November) morning. Rail operator SMRT first tweeted at 6:28am, warning commuters that trains are moving slower between Buona Vista and HarbourFront stations. "We are investigating the fault," it added. Less than 15 minutes later, SMRT said to add 20 minutes' travel time between the stations. Free regular bus services have been made available along the affected stretch.
On Twitter, some commuters complained that trains were not moving at all, while others tweeted photos of crowded train platforms at several stations. Separately, the East-West Line was affected by a train fault on Wednesday morning. SMRT tweeted at 8:25am that that the fault occurred at Joo Koon station. It warned commuters to expect delays of up to 20 minutes while travelling between Jurong East and Joo Koon.
The last major fault on the Circle Line was during the morning peak on 11th September, when a train was rendered inoperable near Marymount station after emergency brakes were applied. The faulty train had to be pushed out of the way by another train, affecting thousands of commuters on their way to work and school.
