SINGAPORE: Some commuters experienced delays in their morning commute on Tuesday (Jul 8) due to a track fault on the North-South Line.
SMRT first informed commuters of the fault on its Facebook page at 9.44am, advising them to add an extra 15 minutes of travel time from Toa Payoh to Somerset stations towards Marina South Pier.
In an update at 9.57am, the operator said that the track fault had been cleared and that train services resumed.
Some comments on SMRT’s Facebook post said the issue began at least one hour prior to its 9.44am update.
“I’m almost an hour later than usual … what do u mean by 10mins delay???” said one commuter.
“This message should have been posted an hour ago when the train issue started!” another said.
Another user claimed that their train had been stopping for over 10 minutes at every station.
In a statement posted at 10.21am, SMRT said that the track fault occurred near Orchard station towards the city at about 8.45am.
“Our staff were onsite to investigate the fault, to ensure the safety of our commuters and safe restoration of train services,” SMRT said.
A CNA reader commuting on the North-South Line told CNA at about 9.40am that her train started experiencing a jam at Toa Payoh station and that commuters had to alight and take the next train.
Announcements initially informed commuters of a 5-minute delay, which later extended to 10 minutes.
She added that there was a jam between Toa Payoh and Somerset stations, and that her train had “crawled” between the stations. She usually reaches her office at City Hall at about 9.10am, but experienced a 40-minute delay.
An announcement to expect longer commutes on the North-South Line was also heard on the East-West and Downtown lines.
