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By Natalie Lim and Adrian Tay
SINGAPORE - About 18,000 passengers were affected by a two-hour MRT train disruption along the Circle Line this morning.
The fault started at 7.40am at Botanic Gardens Circle Line Station, SMRT said.
Train services in both directions were disrupted between Holland Village and Caldecott stations, with the downtime later extending to the one-north and Bishan stations as well.
To allow affected passengers to transfer to the North-South Line or to board free public and bridging bus services, train services were turned around at one-north and Bishan stations.
SMRT's preliminary assessment indicated that the disruption was caused by a signalling fault.
The power supply to the communications backbone network located at Botanic Gardens station had been disrupted by an electrical earth fault. This in turn interrupted the transmission of information from the signaling system that controls train operations.
The fault has been isolated and rectified, SMRT said.
Full train services between the eight stations from one-north to Bishan eventually resumed at 10.10am.
According to an SMRT statement, about 100 additional station staff and customer service team members were deployed on the ground to assist affected commuters.
SMRT issued travel advisories through all media to inform passengers of the service disruption.
Information was also sent out on SMRT's and SBS Transit's various online platforms, such as websites, Twitter page and phone applications.
Public announcements were made in English and Mandarin, and signs were put out at stations and flashed on digital screens to inform affected passengers.
However, commuters today told AsiaOne that announcements made at the train stations this morning were unclear and confusing.
AsiaOne reader, Mr A. Lim, said an announcement was made at Boon Lay station at around 8.50am, saying that the Circle Line was back up.
But when he got out at Buona Vista interchange at 9.09am, ground staff there told him there was no service at the moment and advised him to find other means to his destination.
According to another AsiaOne reader, announcements made at Yio Chu Kang station said that Circle Line train services had resumed.
However, when he reached Braddell station, announcements there said the services were still down.
To cope with the disruptions, 70 free bus bridging services and 41 free SMRT and SBST bus services were offered at designated bus boarding points outside one-north to Bishan Circle Line stations.
However, a commuter on her way to one-north told AsiaOne that a shuttle service took almost 20 minutes to arrive.
She said the bus was crowded and people were uncomfortable. "The bus driver was asking us to move in, then a commuter shouted: 'Sorry, no space!' before commenting in a slightly softer tone 'You think we're sardines?'", she added.
SMRT has, in a statement, apologised for the inconvenience caused. It said passengers who could not continue with their journey because of the disruption can get a refund at the Passenger Service Centre in any of SMRT's 83 stations in the next 14 days.
Those who had to exit an SMRT train station without taking a trip but had their fares deducted could also get a refund.
SMRT interim CEO and executive director, Mr Tan Ek Kia, said: "We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to commuters and the public. We are working with LTA and contractor to investigate the cause of the problem to prevent a recurrence. "
This is the third day of train disruptions.
On Tuesday morning, a train at Jurong East Station stalled, causing a 20 to 40 minute delay along the East-West line.
Both the North-South and East-West lines were affected by delays during the rush hour on Monday. Last Friday, a stalled train between Simei and Tampines stations caused a delay of up to 40 minutes.
What our webknowledgist on the ground observed
Most passengers coming from the North-East line at Serangoon station only found out about the train disruption at the Circle Line platform. There was a sign placed next to the fare gates indicating that the train service from Caldecott to Holland Village was disrupted.
The downward escalators were stopped and not running. Upon seeing the crowds, some passengers decided to walk back up and leave the train station.
Train services heading from Serangoon station towards Harbourfront experienced delays at each station. The train stopped for a short while before leaving for the next. Announcements were made to notify passengers of the slight delay.
At Bishan station's Circle Line platform, at about 8.47am, an announcement was made to inform passengers that the train service has resumed. However, at Braddell Station, announcements about the train disruption were still being made at 8.50am.
There was a larger than normal crowd gathered at the platform heading towards Dhoby Ghaut at each station. At Bishan Station, there were about 10 people waiting at the second level balcony looking down on the crowd.
A few passengers were taking photos, while others were tweeting, Facebooking and texting their friends.
a1admin@sph.com.sg
Train service disruptions on Circle Line
Click on thumbnail to view. (Photos: AsiaOne, Rachel Lock) |
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