SMRT said in an earlier post on Friday that commuters taking the North-South and East-West lines on Friday evening should expect delays and crowded trains as it worked to recover the vehicle.
“Please expect longer intervals between trains of about 3.5 minutes on NSEWL during this evening’s peak hours. Crowded trains are expected. Commuters are advised to take alternative lines or other modes of transport to continue their journey. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” SMRT said in a Facebook update at 5.15pm.
Issues first surfaced in the early hours of Friday after an engineering vehicle returning to Bishan Depot broke down at one of the crossings in the depot.
“This prevented some trains that will serve the North-South Line this morning from leaving the depot,” said SMRT at about 7am, adding that the vehicle had performed regular maintenance works during engineering hours.
Commuters were on Friday morning advised to add up to 10 minutes of train travel time between Ang Mo Kio and Jurong East stations towards Jurong East.
It later said more trains from other depots were redirected from the East-West Line to support operations on the North-South Line.
In a progress update at about 5pm, SMRT said the wagon was off track, obstructing a key crossing and preventing trains from launching from Bishan Depot.
“The team is carefully using a hydraulic jack to shift the wagon inch by inch onto another track. While we aim to resolve the situation by this evening, safety remains our top priority.”
