No train services between Jurong East & Buona Vista on Sep. 26: SMRT

UPDATE on Sep. 25 at 10:18pm: This article has been updated with a statement by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Regular train services between Queenstown and Boon Lay stations on the East-West Line (EWL) will not resume on Sep. 26.

There will also be no train service between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations, according to a Facebook update by SMRT on Sep. 25 at 9:27pm.

Services between Queenstown and Boon Lay stations were halted at around 9:30am on Sep. 25, affecting a total of nine stations along the EWL.

Free regular and bridging buses were activated to and from the affected stations from 9:28am and 9:46am respectively.

From 5pm, SMRT has been running shuttle trains as well, in view of rush hour.

Free bridging buses and shuttle train services on Sep. 26

Free regular and bridging bus services will be available between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations.

Shuttle trains will also run between Boon Lay and Jurong East, and Buona Vista and Queenstown.

Recovery works to continue into the night: LTA

In a Facebook statement on Sep. 25 at 9:48pm, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that LTA and SMRT engineers commenced recovery works since the afternoon of Sep. 25 after rains stopped.

Works will continue into the night.

However, as the damage to the tracks is extensive, more time is required to do the necessary repairs and replacements.

LTA and SMRT will do a thorough check of all the first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries trains overnight, before they are put into service.

Students taking PSLE will not be penalised for being late

The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) said in an earlier statement that students who are taking the 2024 Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) written examinations from Sep. 26 to Oct. 2 "will not be penalised for being late to their examinations due to train service disruptions".

Affected students will be given the full duration of the paper if they reach the examination centre before the end of the paper, according to a SEAB spokesperson.

The spokesperson added that there are existing arrangements for such situations, and that students have been briefed.

What happened

On Sep. 25 at around 9am, a Kawasaki Heavy Industries train which has been in service for over 35 years developed a fault while travelling near Clementi station towards the east on the EWL.

A power trip occurred at 9:25am as the train was being withdrawn, causing trains on between Queenstown and Boon Lay stations to stall.

850 passengers had to be detrained and were led back to Clementi station via the train tracks.

"Our preliminary assessment is that when the damaged train was being withdrawn, it caused damage to the tracks, including the running rails and the third rail supplying power to the train," an LTA spokesperson.

SMRT chairman Seah Moon Ming and Group CEO Ngien Hoon Ping apologised for the "significant disruption".

Top photos by Mothership reader & SMRT