‘A possibility’ that EWL train service won’t resume on Sep. 26, MOE preparing contingency PSLE plans

There is a possibility that normal train services — which were disrupted on Wednesday (Sep. 25) — will not be able to resume on Sep. 26, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat.

As the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) written examinations are scheduled to start then, the ministry is in touch with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) to prepare contingencies.

Chee posted the Sep. 25 update on Facebook, at around 5pm.

Previously, SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said they would assess whether service could resume on Sep. 26 during "engineering hours" tonight.

Damaged train

According to SMRT and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), an old train developed a fault while travelling near Clementi MRT station.

As it was being withdrawn, it damaged the tracks, including the running rails and a third rail supplying power to the train.

This led to a power fault that affected train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown MRT stations along the East-West Line.

An expected delay of 20 minutes was later extended to a total cancellation of train services along that stretch.

Approximately 850 passengers were also detrained and had to walk along the tracks to Clementi MRT station.

Thorough investigation

Chee said that LTA would do a "thorough investigation to ascertain what happened and identify areas for improvement".

In the meantime, as rail services cannot be resumed today, SMRT will provide two shuttle train services from 5pm: one between Boon Lay and Jurong East, and another between Queenstown and Buona Vista.

Free bridging services will also continue to be provided to commuters, he said.

In a Facebook post at 4:28pm, the chairman and group chief executive officer of SMRT Corporation apologised to commuters for the disruption.

"We fully understand the inconvenience, frustration, and delays this disruption has caused, and we deeply regret the impact it has had on your journey," they said.

"We are working relentlessly to restore service quickly."

SMRT has since posted suggested alternative transport routes which avoid the affected stretch.

Top image from SMRT and Mothership reader