MRT East-West Line suffers another train fault, services between Queenstown & Bugis affected

UPDATE on Oct. 10 at 1:09pm: This article has been updated with new information from SMRT.

After resuming services from Buona Vista to Jurong East on Oct. 1, the East-West Line (EWL) suffered another train fault on Oct. 10, 2024.

At 12:31pm, SMRT advised commuters to add 25 minutes to their travel time from Outram Park to Queenstown towards Joo Koon.

At 12:34pm, SMRT added that there are free regular bus services between Outram Park and Queenstown.

Station staff will assist commuters, SMRT wrote on their Facebook.

At 12:55pm, SMRT advised commuters to add 20 minutes travel time from Queenstown to Bugis towards Pasir Ris.

Free regular bus service is available between Queenstown and Bugis.

At 1:08pm, SMRT stated that the fault had cleared and train services are progressively being restored. Commuters are still advised to add 20 minutes of travel time from Queenstown to Bugis.

Five days of no trains

On Sep. 25, 2024, 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As it was being withdrawn, it damaged the tracks, including the running rails and a third rail supplying power to the train.

The Land Transport Authority (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.

Service resumed on Oct. 1, 2024, with some speed restrictions for westbound trains on the EWL. On Oct. 5, the restrictions were lifted.

Top photos via MOT/Facebook