Commuters on board a stalled train near Clementi station disembarked on the tracks and were guided back to the station platform on Wednesday morning. (Images: SGTrains)
A major train disruption on the East-West Line (EWL) between Jurong East (EW24) and Buona Vista (EW21) stations that started on Wednesday (Sep 25) morning will continue for a second day on Thursday, said rail operator SMRT.
Train services between Boon Lay (EW27) and Queenstown (EW19) stations were affected after a faulty train caused a power fault, severely affecting commutes.
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No train service on EWL between Jurong East & Buona Vista
Recovery works continue into Thursday
Image: SMRT/Facebook
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a statement at 9:48pm on Wednesday that LTA and SMRT engineers began recovery works in the afternoon and will continue into the night.
However, the authority added that considering the damage to the tracks “is extensive”, more time is required to do the necessary repairs and replacements.
LTA and SMRT will also conduct a thorough check of all 1st-gen Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151 (KHI) trains overnight before they commence passenger service.
“The LTA and SMRT will do a thorough check of all the first-generation Kawasaki Heavy Industries trains overnight, before they are put into service.”
Free regular bus services will be available between Boon Lay (EW27) and Queenstown (EW19) stations, and free bridging bus services will be available between Jurong East (EW24) and Buona Vista (EW21) stations, said LTA.
Shuttle train services operating at 10-minute intervals will also be available between Buona Vista (EW21) and Queenstown (EW19) stations and between Boon Lay (EW27) and Jurong East (EW24) stations.
LTA said it will continue to deploy more bridging buses, including double-deck buses and staff, to manage the expected high crowd volume at these bus bridging points.
SEE ALSO: Train Service Status »
The incident as it happened on Wednesday
“Due to a train fault, there is no train service from Queenstown to Boon Lay stations (both bound). Free Regular Bus and Bridging Bus Services are available at the designated bus stops between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations. Passengers are advised to use alternative lines to get to their destinations.” (Image: Screengrab from SGTrains)
Before 10am on Wednesday, train services along nine stations of the EWL were disrupted after a KHI train, which was emitting smoke, caused a power trip during its withdrawal back to Ulu Pandan train depot, situated between Jurong East and Clementi stations.
The nine affected EWL stations include – Boon Lay (EW27), Lakeside (EW26), Chinese Garden (EW25), Jurong East (EW24), Clementi (EW23), Dover (EW22), Buona Vista (EW21), Commonwealth (EW20), and Queenstown (EW19) stations.
SGTrains received the first train disruption alert from an LTA data feed at 10:12am, which we had displayed on our Train Service Status web page.
SMRT chairman Seah Moon Ming and group CEO Ngien Hoon Ping said in a statement that the incident was an “unforeseen issue” during the withdrawal of the ageing KHI train. The 35-year-old KHI train fleet has been undergoing retirement since 2020.
“A defective train axle box on one of our first-generation trains dropped and caused the wheels of a bogie to come off the running rail and hit track equipment” (Image: SMRT/Facebook)
They added that a train axle box from the KHI train, which was defective, had “dropped”, causing the wheels from the bogie (undercarriage) to “come off the running rail” and “hit (trackside) equipment”. It is unclear whether this is related to the smoke emission.
The trackside equipment which was damaged in the incident includes the third rail – which supplies power to trains – and track point machines – which move the tracks for trains to be directed to switch between tracks, leading to a power fault.
“The incident was the result of an unforeseen issue during the withdrawal of an old train, where a defective train axle box on one of our first-generation trains dropped and caused the wheels of a bogie to come off the running rail and hit track equipment, including the third rail and point machines, leading to the power fault.”
The power fault caused another KHI train near Clementi station to stall, affecting over 850 commuters on board, all of which were safely disembarked onto the tracks and guided back to the station platform.
LTA and SMRT deployed free regular and free bridging bus services near the affected stations. Normal train services between Boon Lay (EW27) and Queenstown (EW19) stations were not available for “at least the rest of the day”, said LTA at around 2pm.
Around twelve hours after the incident started, SMRT announced at 9:20pm that there would be no train services between Jurong East (EW24) and Buona Vista (EW21) stations in both directions on Thursday for engineering works to restore service in the affected sector.
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Related Links
Kawasaki Heavy Industries C151 – SGTrains
East-West Line – SGTrains
Train Service Status – SGTrains
External Links
#PSA There will be no train service on the East-West Line (EWL) between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations on 26 September 2024. – LTA/Facebook
UPDATE on the power fault on the East-West Line at 9.20pm – SMRT/Facebook
Images: SGTrains, SMRT/Facebook, Screengrab from SGTrains, SMRT Facebook.
This article first appeared on SGTrains.
Last updated on 27 Sep 2024.
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