SINGAPORE: Transport operator SMRT, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and French train maker Alstom are working together after the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) was hit by three disruptions in a week.
In a Facebook post late on Friday (Jan 3), SMRT said that engineers are investigating the root causes of the incidents on Dec 27, Dec 29 and Jan 2 respectively, adding that all three delays were unrelated.
A signalling fault had caused the earliest disruption and as a result, “multiple trains received stop commands and had to be manually driven at 18kph after system resets”, it said.
The “intermittent stoppages” on Dec 27 had spanned over 2.5 hours and caused a delay of up to 15 minutes.
On the Dec 29 incident, SMRT said it involved a train experiencing “intermittent brake faults” as it departed a station.
This led to a 15-minute delay for commuters travelling from Bayshore to Woodlands North as trains had to move slower.
“In line with safety protocols, the train was manually operated at 18kph,” SMRT added. “The fault cleared automatically, allowing regular train services to resume shortly after.”
According to SMRT, preliminary findings suggest a possible component fault within the train.
With regards to the Jan 2 incident, SMRT said a train had triggered the emergency brake system as it approached Orchard MRT station, requiring manual operation.
Commuters were then advised to factor in an additional 10 minutes for their trip between Caldecott and Bayshore MRT stations due to a train fault. The fault was cleared within 30 minutes.
Investigations into the root cause of the aforementioned incident are ongoing, SMRT added, noting that train services continued operating in both directions during all three incidents.
A separate probe into the disruption of train services, which occurred over six days last September, on the East-West Line between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations is currently ongoing.
Those investigations are expected to be completed in a few months, LTA said in October.
The fourth stage of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL4) – comprising Marine Parade, Tanjong Rhu, Katong Park, Tanjong Katong, Marine Terrace, Siglap and Bayshore stations – opened last June.
The fifth stage of the line – connecting Bayshore and Sungei Bedok – will be completed by 2026, while an extension to connect the TEL to Changi Airport will be completed in the mid-2030s, together with the opening of Terminal 5.
