East-West Line Disruption Extended Until Monday After Major Track Damage

Train services on the East-West Line between Jurong East and Buona Vista will remain suspended until Monday (Sep 30), prolonging a disruption that began on Wednesday morning. This extended suspension is due to extensive damage to the tracks and trackside equipment caused by a faulty train. In the meantime, free regular and bridging bus services will continue to operate for commuters affected by the disruption.

Initially, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and rail operator SMRT considered running a temporary shuttle train service between the affected stations. However, on Thursday night, both agencies announced that they had decided against this option. While it was technically feasible to run a shuttle train, doing so would have slowed down the repair work on the adjacent damaged rail. Authorities emphasized that it was more efficient to focus on expediting full restoration of service, rather than risking further delays by running a 20-minute shuttle between Jurong East and Buona Vista. According to the LTA and SMRT, operating the shuttle could have delayed full restoration by several days.

The root cause of the disruption stems from a fault that occurred on Wednesday morning. A 35-year-old Kawasaki Heavy Industries train developed a significant issue while returning to Ulu Pandan Depot. A defective component, known as an axle box, dropped onto the tracks, causing one of the train's bogies (an undercarriage with wheels) to come off the running rail between Dover and Clementi stations. This unprecedented failure led to further damage along the tracks.

Engineers discovered widespread damage, including 34 rail breaks across 1.6 kilometers of track, as well as damage to three point machines, which are used to divert trains onto different tracks. In addition, the third rail, which supplies power to the trains, along with power cables and rail clips, sustained heavy damage. This chain of failures resulted in a power trip at approximately 9:25 am on Wednesday, which caused another train near Clementi station to stall.

Authorities reported that while this is the first time such an axle box failure has occurred on an SMRT train, they have since inspected all Kawasaki Heavy Industries trains running on the network. All of the trains have passed axle box functionality checks, and they are considered safe for continued operation.

SMRT and LTA aim to complete all necessary repairs over the weekend, targeting Monday for a full restoration of service. Commuters are advised to continue using alternative transport options and follow updates from SMRT and LTA on their social media platforms for further information.

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