Signalling fault causes hours-long disruption on Thomson-East Coast Line
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SINGAPORE – A signalling fault caused train service on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) to be disrupted on the morning of May 3, including a period of about 30 minutes when there was no train service at all.
According to Land Transport Authority (LTA) data, the disruption started at 5.53am as a “minor delay” between Stevens and Caldecott stations in both directions, though there was still train service then.
It then developed into a “major delay” by 7.18am, according to LTA data, with no train service between the Caldecott and Orchard stations in both directions.
There was no train service on the entire line, between Woodlands North and Bayshore stations, from 8.14am to 8.48am.
From 8.48am, train service progressively resumed between Woodlands North and Caldecott stations, and between Orchard and Bayshore stations. There was no service between Caldecott and Orchard stations until 10.48am, when trains started running again at a slower speed.
Normal operations on the TEL resumed at 1.15pm.
In a statement posted on Facebook at 9.13am, SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said that the fault happened at about 6.55am and followed signalling tests carried out the night before by the original equipment manufacturer, Alstom.
“While we reset the system, some trains were held at affected platforms. As a result, there were no train services between Caldecott and Orchard stations. Our engineers are working with Alstom engineers to restore service as quickly as possible,” he said.
Mr Lam said later that morning that trains between Caldecott and Orchard stations were being driven manually until the end of service, though the operator subsequently said train service on the line was progressively returning to normal. Trains on the line are normally automated.
Free bus services were offered during the disruption.
With three delays in March that lasted more than five minutes each, the TEL averaged 374,000 train-km between delays, according to the data released by the LTA on April 17. It was down from 415,000 train-km previously.
Train punctuality, measured as the percentage of trips completed within two minutes of the scheduled time, dipped on the TEL to 99.22 per cent, from 99.37 per cent a month earlier.
In terms of train services that operated according to schedule, the TEL improved from 99.90 per cent to 99.98 per cent.
