Wednesday, Apr 18, 2012
AsiaOne
MRT commuters affected by third day of delays
By Natalie Lim and Adrian Tay
SINGAPORE - Peak hour commuters were hit by a third straight day of MRT train disruptions on Wednesday morning, with a section of the Circle Line breaking down for over two hours.
Starting at 8.07am, train services in both directions were disrupted between Holland Village and Caldecott stations, with the downtime later extending to the One-North and Bishan stations as well.
Train services between one-North and Bishan eventually resumed at 10.10am, transport operator SMRT said.
In total, eight stations were affected by this morning's disruption, which was due to a signalling fault.
On Tuesday morning, a train at Jurong East Station stalled, causing a 20 to 40 minute delay along the East-West line.
Both the North-South and East-West lines were affected by delays during the rush hour on Monday. Last Friday, a stalled train between Simei and Tampines stations caused a delay of up to 40minutes.
Commuters today told AsiaOne that announcements made at the train stations this morning were unclear and confusing.
AsiaOne reader, Mr A. Lim, said an announcement was made at Boon Lay station at around 8.50am, saying that the Circle Line was back up.
But when he got out at Buona Vista interchange at 9.09am, ground staff there told him there was no service at the moment and advised him to find other means to his destination.
According to another AsiaOne reader, announcements made at Yio Chu Kang station said that Circle Line train services had resumed.
However, when he reached Braddell station, announcements there said the services were still down.
To cope with the disruptions, free bus bridging services were offered at designated bus boarding points outside one-North to Bishan Circle Line stations.
However, a commuter on her way to One-North told AsiaOne that a shuttle service took almost 20 minutes to arrive.
She said the bus was crowded and people were uncomfortable. "The bus driver was asking us to move in, then a commuter shouted: 'Sorry, no space!' before commenting in a slightly softer tone 'You think we're sardines?'", she added.
SMRT has, in a statement, apologised for the inconvenience caused. It said passengers who could not continue with their journey because of the disruption can get a refund at the Passenger Service Centre in any of SMRT's 83 stations in the next 14 days.
Those who had to exit an SMRT train station without taking a trip but had their fares deducted could also get a refund.
What our webknowledgist on the ground observed
Most passengers coming from the North-East line at Serangoon station only found out about the train disruption at the Circle Line platform. There was a sign placed next to the fare gates indicating that the train service from Caldecott to Holland Village was disrupted.
The downward escalators were stopped and not running. Upon seeing the crowds, some passengers decided to walk back up and leave the train station.
Train services heading from Serangoon station towards Harbourfront experienced delays at each station. The train stopped for a short while before leaving for the next. Announcements were made to notify passengers of the slight delay.
At Bishan station's Circle Line platform, at about 8.47am, an announcement was made to inform passengers that the train service has resumed. However, at Braddell Station, announcements about the train disruption were still being made at 8.50am.
There was a larger than normal crowd gathered at the platform heading towards Dhoby Ghaut at each station. At Bishan Station, there were about 10 people waiting at the second level balcony looking down on the crowd.
A few passengers were taking photos, while others were tweeting, Facebooking and texting their friends.
[email protected]
AsiaOne
MRT commuters affected by third day of delays
By Natalie Lim and Adrian Tay
SINGAPORE - Peak hour commuters were hit by a third straight day of MRT train disruptions on Wednesday morning, with a section of the Circle Line breaking down for over two hours.
Starting at 8.07am, train services in both directions were disrupted between Holland Village and Caldecott stations, with the downtime later extending to the One-North and Bishan stations as well.
Train services between one-North and Bishan eventually resumed at 10.10am, transport operator SMRT said.
In total, eight stations were affected by this morning's disruption, which was due to a signalling fault.
On Tuesday morning, a train at Jurong East Station stalled, causing a 20 to 40 minute delay along the East-West line.
Both the North-South and East-West lines were affected by delays during the rush hour on Monday. Last Friday, a stalled train between Simei and Tampines stations caused a delay of up to 40minutes.
Commuters today told AsiaOne that announcements made at the train stations this morning were unclear and confusing.
AsiaOne reader, Mr A. Lim, said an announcement was made at Boon Lay station at around 8.50am, saying that the Circle Line was back up.
But when he got out at Buona Vista interchange at 9.09am, ground staff there told him there was no service at the moment and advised him to find other means to his destination.
According to another AsiaOne reader, announcements made at Yio Chu Kang station said that Circle Line train services had resumed.
However, when he reached Braddell station, announcements there said the services were still down.
To cope with the disruptions, free bus bridging services were offered at designated bus boarding points outside one-North to Bishan Circle Line stations.
However, a commuter on her way to One-North told AsiaOne that a shuttle service took almost 20 minutes to arrive.
She said the bus was crowded and people were uncomfortable. "The bus driver was asking us to move in, then a commuter shouted: 'Sorry, no space!' before commenting in a slightly softer tone 'You think we're sardines?'", she added.
SMRT has, in a statement, apologised for the inconvenience caused. It said passengers who could not continue with their journey because of the disruption can get a refund at the Passenger Service Centre in any of SMRT's 83 stations in the next 14 days.
Those who had to exit an SMRT train station without taking a trip but had their fares deducted could also get a refund.
What our webknowledgist on the ground observed
Most passengers coming from the North-East line at Serangoon station only found out about the train disruption at the Circle Line platform. There was a sign placed next to the fare gates indicating that the train service from Caldecott to Holland Village was disrupted.
The downward escalators were stopped and not running. Upon seeing the crowds, some passengers decided to walk back up and leave the train station.
Train services heading from Serangoon station towards Harbourfront experienced delays at each station. The train stopped for a short while before leaving for the next. Announcements were made to notify passengers of the slight delay.
At Bishan station's Circle Line platform, at about 8.47am, an announcement was made to inform passengers that the train service has resumed. However, at Braddell Station, announcements about the train disruption were still being made at 8.50am.
There was a larger than normal crowd gathered at the platform heading towards Dhoby Ghaut at each station. At Bishan Station, there were about 10 people waiting at the second level balcony looking down on the crowd.
A few passengers were taking photos, while others were tweeting, Facebooking and texting their friends.
[email protected]
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