After the many breakdowns during the morning and evening rush hours this week, SMRT is faced with a service disruption along its East West Line (EWL) that will continue past midnight.
Singapore Mass Rapid Transport (SMRT) first informed of a delay at 9:53pm Friday (10 Nov) evening that due to a train fault, commuters are to add 30 minutes of travel time from Bugis to Queenstown station and noted that the fault is not linked to the new signalling project.
[EWL]:Due to a train fault,pls add 30min train travel time from #Bugis to #Queenstown towards #TuasLink.Not linked to new signalling project
— SMRT Corporation (@SMRT_Singapore) November 10, 2017
Followed by its usual tweet that free regular bus services is available between Bugis and Queenstown in both directions:
[EWL] UPDATE: Free regular bus svcs is available btwn #Bugis and #Queenstown in both directions.
— SMRT Corporation (@SMRT_Singapore) November 10, 2017
Though SMRT announced the delay at 9pm, commuters have tweeted about the slow down and delay since around 7pm on Friday.
NSL and EWL super crowded…. decided to take DTL instead.
— Sharul (@SharuleSkinny) November 10, 2017
Is it the whole ewl down SMRT? After a rain, really?
— Ryaan (@ryaanhnnfi) November 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/hey_yougorgeous/status/928952346230575105
@SMRT_Singapore no announcement on chaos at tanah merah now? Been waiting 40 min for train to airport and had to board/disembark two trains, take an incorrect train to simei & backtrack, was deposited at the WRONG platform and had to go down and come back up to the right platform
— Rin (@lifesux_rin) November 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/Nicobcn2/status/928957371073814528
oh my god smRT DELAY TRAIN AGAIN
— • dill • pls rt comms in ? (@dillings1004) November 10, 2017
@SMRT_Singapore Train fault again at EW Line, passengers need to alight at next station, wondering what kind of maintenance work SMRT doing daily?
— Freakycool (@TonySky888) November 10, 2017
SMRT East West line train fault. Again. pic.twitter.com/LfMOHeMkGT
— Darryl Kang (@dk) November 10, 2017
There are also comments made on the North-South Line:
N-bound NSL running at 8-min intervals #smrt
— Chow Ah Beng (@FGoh99) November 10, 2017
The late night delay didn’t go well for the tired commuters:
When you decide not to drive and take the mrt. It breaks at this fucking unearthly hour. Fuck you SMRT
— konrad k (@khaopadkon) November 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/gnvcwh/status/928985054314872832
https://twitter.com/Oliverchoi89/status/928986941986447362
No mention of the earlier chaos at tanah merah? I guess then it didn't happen huh? I must love tanah merah to hv spent 40 minutes there when what I really needed was to get to expo. #smrt
— Rin (@lifesux_rin) November 10, 2017
#SMRT you good! This kinda timing you tell me train break down and need additional 40 min for the journey… you KNN!
— JPGLIXIOUS (@jpglicious) November 10, 2017
Trapped inside a train near at Outram Park due to train fault, doors open after 10mins, need to alight and take bus.
Good work SMRT!?#rainyday #trainfault @SMRT_Singapore #outrampark pic.twitter.com/5bHBO28m3T— Freakycool (@TonySky888) November 10, 2017
At 10:37pm, SMRT tweeted that the fault was cleared:
[EWL]UPDATE:Train fault cleared,normal train svc https://t.co/pnKyY12xOQ regular bus svc are still available btwn Bugis & Queenstown.
— SMRT Corporation (@SMRT_Singapore) November 10, 2017
But complaints still flooded Twitter:
https://twitter.com/_ardianugraah/status/929002271194546177
https://twitter.com/_ardianugraah/status/929002960004071424
Liar liar pants on fire I'm still fucking stuck in bugis @SMRT_Singapore https://t.co/zsUyynBndy
— XT (@gxueting) November 10, 2017
Train still not moving at bugis. C'mon.
— XT (@gxueting) November 10, 2017
Thanks for posting inaccurate information. Decided to take the train from Bugis to Tanah Merah. Got stuck halfway and you’re sending us back to Aljunied. Bloody disappointing.
— Wira (@WirathaW) November 10, 2017
It turned out that the commuters were right, at 11:15pm SMRT tweeted again about the service disruption:
[EWL]:Due to a train fault,pls add one hour train travel time from #TiongBahru to #PasirRis.Not linked to new signalling project.
— SMRT Corporation (@SMRT_Singapore) November 10, 2017
[EWL] UPDATE: Free regular bus & Bridging bus svcs is available btwn #Bugis and #PasirRis in both directions.
— SMRT Corporation (@SMRT_Singapore) November 10, 2017
Tweets from commuters kept coming in:
I really wanted to take a bus home just now. Regretting it now ?
— Wira (@WirathaW) November 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/nursh1fa/status/929005221220466688
https://twitter.com/cielru/status/929005317139996672
Joke. We are stuck in the train between paya lebar and aljunied station for 30mins please @SMRT_Singapore
— Kim chuan (@kimichuan) November 10, 2017
Add one hour? By then you clowns would’ve stopped operating right?
— Daniel Anthony (@kh2ouija) November 10, 2017
Bloody shit @SMRT_Singapore you still charge me when the train didn't fucking move a cm. pic.twitter.com/dRuMedASTa
— XT (@gxueting) November 10, 2017
Fuck you seriously SMRT. You should have announced this way earlier. I don’t get why poor commuters like us have to pay for your screw ups with our time and money. No form of compensation is ever mentioned and we are just expected to accept your shit
— Sam Tan (@SamTan117799) November 10, 2017
1 day 3 train faults on NSEWL. Come, I clap for you. @SMRT_Singapore
— GryffinPegaKok (@PegaKok) November 10, 2017
Wtf la smrt i am damn tired from work already then got delay what a night
— *✲ﾟPUTRI NADHIRA *✲ﾟ (@putridhiraaz) November 10, 2017
FML seriously at this timing?! ?#Smrt
— Arielle Delos Reyes (@arielle_kiel17) November 10, 2017
Good timing to be faulty, smrt, right when we are heading home from work this late.
— Crissa (@entangledream) November 10, 2017
And was the bus service free?:
https://twitter.com/tanyueting/status/929008476017213440
https://twitter.com/prashantrar/status/929014281009381376
Again at 11:38pm SMRT informed:
[EWL] UPDATE: No train svc from #Bugis to #TanahMerah towards #PasirRis due to a train fault at #Aljunied.
— SMRT Corporation (@SMRT_Singapore) November 10, 2017
This was really a rather long night (and day):
This time really jinxed. Cow speak n 3 days continuously train fault…even late night is not spared….trains are also protesting
— Jeffrey (@CryptXus) November 10, 2017
ugh won't even be able to catch my last bus home by the time the train starts moving again…taxi it is, fuck you SMRT
— ^っ• ﻌ•^っ? (@hangboxes) November 10, 2017
I was supposed to be home an hr ago but thx smrt for depositing hundreds of commuters at aljunid mrt n making me pay midnight surcharge for the 10 MINUTE RIDE HOME.
— (ノ｀△´)ノ (@halcyoneus_x) November 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/icanhokeypokey/status/929014352866246656
So it's been 20min and I've moved only 3 stops, stuck at Queenstown. And I don't have a train from Bugis because there's a train fault at Tanah Merah, like WOW SMRT THANK YOU FOR A GREAT JOURNEY HOME!
— j e s s (@jeycea_) November 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/icanhokeypokey/status/929014900663320576
Help lah smrt yall are damn horrible leh pic.twitter.com/hkTEGAShWf
— I'm dating zac efron (@WEIXUANNN) November 10, 2017
@SMRT_Singapore how lucky am I to hv been caught on the NSL service disruption this morning, the tanah merah fiasco in the early evening, and the EW disruption now to cap off my day. Hv a fantastic weekend ya'll!!! #smrt #khawboonwan #nsl #ewl
— Rin (@lifesux_rin) November 10, 2017
Commuters tweeted to share their thoughts and complaints about the delay.
https://twitter.com/kwzane/status/929029961008037888
Where is your bridging bus service? I was stuck at PayaLebar MRT at 0015hrs. Your staff told me to walk all the way out to the main road and find a regular bus to take. I ended up taking a bus 28 (last bus), paid for the ride, dropped at Tampines and walked to Simei! So angry.
— Desmond (@DesmondWEBD) November 10, 2017
And again at 12:13am, SMRT updated that there was no train service from Bugis to Tanah Merah towards Pasir Ris:
[EWL] UPDATE: No train service from #Bugis to #TanahMerah towards #PasirRis due to a train fault at #Aljunied until the end of train service. We are sorry that your journey this evening has been affected.
— SMRT Corporation (@SMRT_Singapore) November 10, 2017