By Early morning commuters, including workers and students, using the Sengkang and Punggol LRT lines were hit with disruptions on Tuesday (1 October) as both lines were down due to a system fault for about two hours.
In a tweet, SBS Transit announced at 6.08 am that the Sengkang and Punggol LRT lines were experiencing disruptions, and offered commuters affected by the issue free bridging and regular bus services.
At 0608hrs, no LRT Svc for Sengkang and Punggol LRT due to System Fault. Free Regular Bus Svc is available for both Sengkang and Punggol LRT.
— SBS Transit (@SBSTransit_Ltd) September 30, 2019
One twitter user replied to ask why the company didn’t deploy more busses, pointing out that it’s exam period for some students:
You know, it is PSLE for some students right?
— koalarie (@Koalarie) September 30, 2019
Another person commented that the staff on the ground failed to mention the bridging bus service that was available, meaning they had to find their own alternative route while the LRT line was down. The person urged that staff be better trained to handle situations like this in the future:
Your staff failed to mention there is a bridging bus when I aked about the LRT. I had to find my own alternative route only to realize there is a bridging bus service and run back again. Please provide BETTER TRAINING and information in times like this!
— mavrik__12 (@mavrik__12) October 1, 2019
About an hour later after the disruption was announced, the Punggol LRT line resumed. It look at least another hour after that before the Sengkang LRT line operations were restored, at about 8.04 am.
Service on Punggol LRT has resumed but Sengkang LRT is still down. Free regular and bridging bus services are available at designated bus stops near affected stations.
— SBS Transit (@SBSTransit_Ltd) September 30, 2019
Train service on the Sengkang LRT has resumed. Free bridging and regular bus services are still available at designated bus stops near affected stations on the Sengkang LRT.
— SBS Transit (@SBSTransit_Ltd) October 1, 2019
SBS Transit apologised for the inconvenience on their Facebook page and Twitter.
In response to queries, SBS Transit’s senior vice-president for corporate communications Ms Tammy Tan told Channel NewsAsia (CNA) that the LRT services stalled at about 5.40 am.
The disruption apparently caused some Light Rail Vehicles (LVRs) to stall on the tracks, though the air-conditioning and lights were still functioning, with the exception of about 10 minutes when the traction power was cut to allow SBS Transit staff to access the LRVs.
SBS Transit added that it has alerted the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board to alert them to the service disruption, as some students were affected by this early morning issue.
The cause of the system fault is being investigated.