Thousands of commuters, some making their way home after a long day at work, others heading to town to do their Christmas shopping, had their plans ruined yesterday evening after a damaged 40m stretch of a power rail crippled the main belt of the North-South MRT line.
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The massive disruption hit 11 stations, from Marina Bay to Bishan. Two commuters were taken to hospital - one was semi-conscious and the other had difficulty breathing - and a window of a train was smashed as passengers stuck underground gasped for air after the train's air-conditioning shut down and lights went out.
How dark? This dark.
MRT breakdown: Damaged power rail the cause, says SMRT
Train service resumed at 11.40pm on North-South Line on Thursday, said operator SMRT in an update.
They said the disruption was caused by a damaged third rail, or power rail, between Dhoby Ghaut and City Hall MRT stations.
One train was at Braddell station, another before Orchard, and the final two at Dhoby Ghaut station.
SMRT also apologised for the inconvenience caused.
Passengers who were unable to complete their journeys due to the disruption can file a claim for refund at the Passenger Service Centre in any of the 68 SMRT stations.
Singaporeans need accountability for train breakdowns
For all the hype about Singapore having a “first world” public transport system, our frequent train breakdowns and service lapses easily relegate our system to third world status.
There have been a grand total of 8 trains disruptions on the MRT Circle Line since its phased opening in 2009. The Circle Line’s chequered history include a construction tunnel collapse in 2004 which killed four people, and a construction site cave-in in 2008.
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