Commuters pry train doors open forcefully at Gardens by the Bay station spark online criticism

A woman at Gardens by the Bay MRT station was recently captured on video attempting to board a train as the doors were closing.

Two other men were also filmed trying to pry open the screen doors and the train doors with their hands.

A video of the incident was posted on the r/SMRTRabak subreddit on Jan. 30.

Commuters open doors by force

In the footage, the woman can be seen trying to board the train as the doors close, using her walking stick to wedge between them.

Despite a man inside the train attempting to pry the doors open, she wasn’t able to slip through.

Another man standing behind her also tried to help by holding the doors.

The woman's walking stick was initially caught in the closing doors. After a few seconds, the doors reopened, allowing her to retrieve it.

The man inside the train then held the doors open to let both the woman and the other man enter.

Criticised online

The incident sparked criticism online, with many saying the trio should have simply waited for the next train.

"Idk why but is it difficult to board the next available train? It's not like one train has left and the other takes forever to wait for arrival," one commenter wrote.

However, another user expressed more empathy, noting that the woman seemed to be under stress, and people often react differently in such situations.

Passengers advised to wait for the next train when doors are closing: SMRT

In response to queries from Mothership, Lam Sheau Kai, the president of SMRT Trains, confirmed the incident took place at approximately 8:20pm on Jan. 30.

Lam added that as the commuter wedged her walking stick between the platform screen doors, both the screen doors and the train doors were unable to close.

"We understand that some commuters may require more time to board, and we encourage everyone to do so safely," he said.

However, he advised against rushing to board when the doors are closing, as this can be dangerous and cause delays, affecting other passengers.

"For everyone’s safety, we urge all commuters to wait for the next train if the doors are closing. Those who need assistance when boarding are encouraged to approach our staff at the Passenger Service Centre."

Top photos from r/SMRTRabak/Reddit