Signalling fault causes delays on North-South Line; commuters advised to make alternative travel arrangements

A signalling fault has resulted delays along the North-South MRT Line during the morning peak-hour commute on Monday (29 March).

According to a series of tweets posted on SMRT Corporation’s Twitter page, with the earliest being at 5.47am, it advised commuters to add 25 minutes to their travel time due to the delays. Subsequently, it increased this to 35 minutes, then 45 minutes in later tweets.

The fault, which occurred between Newton and City Hall MRT stations, has affected the MRT line for more than two hours.

In a Facebook post on Monday morning at 6.59am, SMRT Corporation wrote: “At the start of service this morning, a signalling fault occurred between Newton and City Hall on the North-South Line.”

It added, “Our engineers are working to rectify the fault. Trains are moving at a slower speed. Longer train travel time is expected.”

It also advised commuters to make alternative travel arrangements, which include taking other train lines to the city.

It also went on to state that free regular bus and bridging bus services are made available between Toa Payoh and Marina South Pier MRT stations, adding that it is sorry for the inconvenience caused to commuters.

In a latest tweet update, SMRT said at 9.48am that there will be a reset of the signalling system, and during this period there won’t be any train services between Toa Payoh and Marina South Pier stations for around 15 minutes.

[NSL] UPDATE: At ard 10am, there will be a reset of the signalling system. During this period, there will be no train svcs btwn #ToaPayoh & #MarinaSouthPier for approximately 15mins. Free regular bus & bridging bus services are available between #ToaPayoh & #MarinaSouthPier.

— SMRT Corporation (@SMRT_Singapore) March 29, 2021

The signalling fault on Monday is the second MRT fault in two days.

Just a day earlier (Sunday), train services between Punggol and Serangoon stations on the North East Line, which is run by SBS Transit, came to a halt for approximately three hours due to a power fault.