A power trip on the East-West Line on the morning of Sep. 25 was set off by a train that has been in service for more than 35 years, SMRT said.
As a result, about 850 commuters had to be detrained and guided to Clementi MRT station.
Train with more than 35 years in service emitted smoke
In a Facebook post, SMRT said that at around 9:25am, the faulty train was returning to Ulu Pandan depot when it encountered a fault and started emitting smoke.
"This caused damage to the power cable and resulted in a power trip, disrupting train service between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations," SMRT said.
The train that caused the power trip was identified as a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train that has been in service for over 35 years.
SMRT said that the power trip caused another train near Clementi station to stall.
Station staff were deployed to assist commuters on the affected train.
850 commuters on stalled train brought to safety
SMRT said that about 850 commuters onboard the stalled train were safely detrained onto the tracks, and guided back to the Clementi Station platform by staff on site.
Image from SMRT / Facebook
Announcements about the power fault were made on trains and at MRT stations.
"Free regular and bridging bus services are available between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations. Commuters are advised to take alternative lines," SMRT concluded in its post.
The latest update from SMRT on X indicates that the train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown are still down as of Sep. 25, 2:55pm.
[EWL]: UPDATE Due to a power fault, there is no train service between #Boon Lay and #Queenstown. If you are heading towards #Jurong East, take NSL (Red line) at #City Hall or TEL (Brown line) at #Outram Park.
We apologise to affect your commute.
— SMRT Corporation (@SMRT_Singapore) September 25, 2024
No train services on EWL "for at least the rest of the day" between Boon Lay and Queenstown
LTA announced on Sep. 25 that train services would not be available on the EWL between Boon Lay and Queenstown MRT stations for at least the rest of the day.
To aid commuters in their journeys, free regular buses and bridging buses between affected stations have been operating since this morning.
From 5pm, SMRT will also run a separate shuttle train service between Buona Vista and Queenstown MRT stations, and also between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations.
These trains will run at intervals of 10 minutes.
Top image from SMRT / Facebook