Singapore starts weekend with late night breakdown along East-West Line

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_Isssaa (@Sharul_Isa) November 10, 2017

https://twitter.com/ryaanhnnfi/status/928950555266789376

Eh fuck SMRT leh pcb forever halfway something cock up de

— Justin (@Mrkrayyy) November 10, 2017

@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

https://twitter.com/yjhpng/status/928981895932657665

@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:

https://twitter.com/FGoh99/status/928961307675574272

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 (@rad2kay) 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

https://twitter.com/gxueting/status/929003416688267264

https://twitter.com/gxueting/status/929003496568799232

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

https://twitter.com/kh2ouija/status/929006111054639105

https://twitter.com/gxueting/status/929006229736656896

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

https://twitter.com/putridhiraaz/status/929006686571872257

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):

https://twitter.com/CryptXus/status/929012592898596864

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

— viv 🪩 (@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 did it (@takemetobbt) 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