Long crowds spotted after power fault disrupts MRT services on North-South Line, East-West Line, Circle Line

MRT train services along the North-South Line (NSL), East-West Line (EWL), and Circle Line (CCL) were disrupted at around 7pm yesterday (14 Oct) due to a power fault, which had affected the evening rush-hour commute for many commuters.

SMRT informed commuters about the disruptions on NSL and EWL via Twitter at about 7.15pm, asking commuters to add 25 minutes to their travel time.

“Free regular bus service is available between Woodland and Jurong East station,” it added.

https://twitter.com/SMRT_Singapore/status/1316337009191919617

The affected stretches had disrupted the train services between Jurong East and Marsiling, Serangoon and HarbourFront, as well as Clementi and Tuas Link.

The Land Transport Autthority (LTA) stated on Facebook at 8.44pm that preliminary investigations indicated that the disruption was caused by a power trip, adding that SMRT had commenced safe detrainment for passengers on NSEWL and CCL trains due to the delay.

“Free bus boarding was activated at all affected stations and the frequency of regular services serving these areas was also increased,” it wrote.

“LTA is working with SMRT on rectification works and we will carry out a full investigation into the causes.”

At around 11.25pm, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung stated on Facebook that the power cable fault has been isolated, and that services on NSEWL have been restored at 10.34pm.

Meanwhile, some netizens claimed that blackouts had occurred at Yew Tee MRT station and Boon Lay MRT station.

https://twitter.com/CipherDonuts/status/1316338233324703744

Some commuters shared on Twitter that long crowds were spotted at the Queenstown MRT station.

https://twitter.com/meteorjeon/status/1316374561231794176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1316374561231794176%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_0&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmothership.sg%2F2020%2F10%2Fcrowd-grab-mrt-power-fault-breakdown-2020%2F

Another netizen tweeted to SMRT a video of the crowded bus.

https://twitter.com/Rsumntri/status/1316360987935600641

While some netizens posted on social media that commuters had to walk on train tracks due to the incident.