MRT train services on East-West Line will fully resume on Tuesday, Oct. 1

Regular train services on the East-West Line (EWL) between Jurong East and Buona Vista will resume on Tuesday (Oct. 1) from the start of passenger service hours, according to a Land Transport Authority (LTA) news release.

"LTA and SMRT engineers and technicians have successfully replaced the 10 rail segments that had developed new cracks as of late last night," LTA said in the release.

LTA said the team then worked through the night to conduct comprehensive testing of the track and trackside equipment, comprising functional and safety tests on the track, power supply and train signalling systems.

The tracks were also subjected to a sequence of load tests and ultrasound checks, followed by endurance runs using passenger trains packed with sandbags.

"We conduct these safety checks thoroughly to ensure commuter safety, before we fully resume passenger service."

Speed restrictions on westbound trains

For safety reasons, westbound trains travelling on the repaired sections of the tracks will be subject to temporary speed restrictions (TSR).

This is part of the standard process following rail replacements, where trains will travel more slowly at 40km/hr. The TSR will be imposed for three days, until Thursday, Oct. 3.

"We advise commuters who are travelling to the West on the East-West Line to plan for an additional five minutes of travel time."

LTA also expressed its "deepest appreciation" to all its workers, "who have been working day and night to complete the repairs and testing works to fully restore train services."

They also thank all the ground staff from the bus operators, Police Officers from TransCom, Traffic Police, and Police Land Divisions, and volunteers for assisting commuters with their journeys.

"We thank commuters for their patience in bearing with the inconveniences they have experienced during this disruption.

We are also grateful to our commuters for their understanding, and for showing care and concern to our workers with their acts of kindness."

Minister of Transport Chee Hong Tat also posted a video message on his Facebook page, expressing his deepest appreciation for everyone's hard work and dedication:

MRT disruption lasted five days

Regular train services on the EWL between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations have been disrupted for five days, starting on last Wednesday morning (Sep. 25).

The MRT disruption happened when a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train that had been in service for over 35 years developed a fault.

As it was being withdrawn, it damaged the tracks, including the running rails and a third rail supplying power to the train.

LTA and SMRT said that after their engineers worked through the night, they found "extensive damage" to the track and trackside equipment.

LTA and SMRT investigations revealed that a defective train axle box was dropped from the KHI train, causing the wheels of a bogie to come off the running rail between Dover and Clementi station.

The dropped axle box led to 34 rail breaks across 1.6km of tracks between the two stations.

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Top photo via SMRT/Facebook and The Transport Enthusiast DC/Unsplash