Power failure disrupts Circle Line for second time in two days; fire broke out at Kim Chuan Depot

Train services on the Circle Line (CCL) were briefly disrupted for the second time in two days on Wednesday (Sep 18) evening, at around 8pm, following a fire-induced power trip that led to the failure of the traction power supply across the entire MRT line.

This comes after a similar traction power supply failure had occurred the day before, which also affected the entire MRT line and severely impeded evening peak commutes.

Circle Line was disrupted by a power failure caused by a fire in a power system cubicle at Kim Chuan Depot

Fire broke out in a power system cubicle at Kim Chuan Depot on Wednesday

Rail operator SMRT said in a statement on Wednesday that a fire broke out in one of the power system cubicles at Kim Chuan Depot at around 8pm, resulting in a power trip that disrupted the power supply to the entire MRT line.

The operator added that the power trip caused some trains to stall, which affected lighting within the trains. SMRT’s engineers that were on site promptly extinguished the fire, and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was also activated.

Power supply to the CCL was restored by 8:10pm, with trains resuming movement and normal train services resumed at around 8:15pm. “We sincerely apologise for the disruption to your journey this evening,” it added.

Power trip affected the evening peak commute on Tuesday

“Circle Line – Due to a power fault, please add 30 minutes of additional travelling time on the Circle Line. Free regular bus services are available at the designated bus stops for all Circle Line stations. Please make use of other lines and alternative means of transportation to continue your journey.” (Image: Screengrab from SGTrains)

On Tuesday, at around 5:50pm, a traction power trip disrupted train services along the CCL, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Eleven trains stalled in the CCL tunnels during the traction power outage.

LTA said backup batteries on board the CCL trains provided partial lighting and powered ventilation fans without air conditioning. According to Saft, who supplies backup batteries for the trains, its onboard batteries can provide up to 60 minutes of emergency power for a train.

When the power supply was restored by 6:05pm, LTA said SMRT staff manually recovered the stalled trains by driving to the following station by 6:30pm. “Consequently, journeys were delayed by about 30 minutes,” added LTA.

LTA noted that “SMRT had to manage the inflow of commuters to the stations during the progressive restoration of train services”. This was done “in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure” and “to avoid over-crowding and ensure safety of commuters”.

Free regular bus services at the designated bus stops along all CCL stations were also provided, enabling commuters with additional travel options. “Announcements were made at MRT stations to inform commuters to use other rail lines.”

“SMRT and SBST also deployed station staff to assist affected commuters, especially at interchange stations.” LTA said it will investigate the cause of the traction power trip and assess the adequacy of SMRT’s service recovery measures.

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External Links
“On 18 Sep at about 8.00pm, a fire broke out in one of the power system cubicles at Kim Chuan Depot, resulting in a power trip that disrupted the power supply to the Circle Line. This caused some trains to stall, and lighting within the trains were affected.” – SMRT/Facebook
“A traction power trip disrupted train services along the entire Circle Line (CCL) at 5.50pm this evening. Power was restored by 6.05pm.” – LTA/Facebook

Images: SGTrains File, Screengrab from SGTrains.
This article first appeared on SGTrains.