MRT disruption: Jurong East-Buona Vista stretch remains closed on Monday (Sep. 30)

Regular train services on the East-West Line (EWL) between Jurong East and Buona Vista will not resume on Monday (Sep. 30), after new cracks were discovered during stress tests.

As a result, more time is needed for thorough testing to ensure the safety of commuters, said the Land Transport Authority and SMRT.

They aim to restore train services by Tuesday (Oct. 1), and free regular and bridging bus services will remain available on Monday.

Progress made in the past few days

SMRT said they have successfully recovered and completed functionality tests on three track point machines and associated trackside equipment on Sep. 28 (Saturday).

33 segments of running rails and power rails have been replaced as part of the repair and restoration work.

Stress and loading tests were then conducted to ensure the system could operate safely.

New cracks emerged during stress tests

However, 12 new cracks emerged during stress tests.

They appeared on unreplaced rail segments along the section of westbound tracks from Clementi to Ulu Pandan Depot. The 12 cracks were previously not visible.

"These cracks were due to the rail segments being weakened by the damaged train when it was travelling back to the depot on Wednesday morning," SMRT said.

As a result, engineers require additional time to replace the 10 rail segments on Sep. 29, before conducting further stress tests on Sep. 30 to ensure safe and rail integrity before full service resumption.

Free regular and bridging bus services provided on Sep. 30

Meanwhile, commuters are advised to continue using the free regular bus services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations, as well as the free bridging bus services between Jurong East and Buona Vista.

SMRT will also operate shuttle train services between Buona Vista and Queenstown stations, and between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations in both directions.

Free taxis will also be arranged at all four affected MRT stations to transport students taking PSLE or N-levels to the nearest examination centres. That said, students and parents are urged to make plans and avoid congested areas if possible.

"We seek commuters' kind understanding and patience while our workers do their best to safely resume service as soon as we can," LTA and SMRT said.

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 photos courtesy of LTA and SMRT