Commuters irked by lack of info after track fault on East-West Line

On Dec 2, some passengers travelling at night on the East-West Line (EWL) between Bugis and Bedok stations experienced a delay of at least 20 minutes.

- Esther Loi

An SMRT employee directing people at Paya Lebar station on Dec 2. After the track fault, a shuttle train service was introduced. Commuters were confused about which trains to board, as shuttle trains were also running at short intervals between Paya Lebar and Bedok due to a scheduled train service shutdown.

(ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY)

From around 8pm, posters and digital screen displays were put up at various stations indicating that a track fault had occurred, resulting in extra travelling time of 20 minutes between Bugis and Bedok stations a stretch of eight stations.

At Paya Lebar station, one of the affected stops, trains called at platforms opposite to their designated ones and station staff were also said to have been unclear about the trains’ direction of travel.

SMRT, which operates the EWL, did not announce the delay on its social media pages, irking some passengers.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times on Dec 3, SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said a track point failure took place near Aljunied station on the EWL at around 7.50pm on Dec 2.

A track point failure refers to a malfunctioning railway switch that allows trains to change tracks.

A shuttle train service plied the stretch covering Lavender, Kallang, Aljunied and Paya Lebar stations, resulting in an additional 20 minutes of travel time across the affected stretch, he added.

Mr Lam said rail services on the rest of the EWL continued to operate normally, except for the scheduled train service shutdown between Bedok and Tampines stations, and between Tanah Merah and Expo stations. Train services are suspended between these stations till Dec 8 for track work.

“Our staff and engineers responded promptly to rectify the fault, and normal train services progressively resumed from 9.15pm,” he said.