Another day, another MRT fault! Singaporeans are frustrated again as yet another train delay hit the city’s rail network today. On the morning of September 17, the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) faced a 2-hour service disruption due to a signaling fault—causing inconvenience to thousands of commuters on their way to work and school. In fact, the line was completely suspended between Woodlands North and Bayshore stations from early morning as engineers worked to reset the train system and solve the issue. Here’s what we know about the MRT train fault today in Singapore.
Why did the MRT train fault occur today in Singapore?
The MRT disruption began around 6.15am with SMRT officially announcing at 7.29am that a signaling fault was causing delays of up to 15 minutes between Woodlands North and Bayshore stations. By 8.30am, train services were fully suspended between these stations for around 30 minutes.
Although, train services started resuming progressively from 8.49am. Additionally, SMRT confirmed that all services on the TEL were back to normal by 8.54am. Meanwhile, free regular and bridging bus services ran from 7.55am to assist affected commuters but ended once train services resumed.
The MRT train fault on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) led to long queues and crowded platforms, especially at busy stations like Outram Park, with some passengers reporting being stuck on a train for an extended period. Overall, the disruption lasted just over two hours from early morning.
In fact, this incident comes less than 12 hours after another major disruption the previous night on the East-West Line (EWL), where train services were suspended between six stations from Aljunied to Tanah Merah, due to a power supply fault triggering signaling failures.
Certainly, these recent disruptions add to a string of incidents this year—including signaling faults and train malfunctions along various MRT lines—highlighting ongoing challenges in maintaining the rail network’s reliability in Singapore.
SEE MORE: The Best Train Journeys From Singapore