PUBLISHED ONSeptember 26, 2024 10:00 AMByLam Min LeeOn the second day of the East-West Line train disruption, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and transport operator SMRT said that they are aiming for the partial restoration of train services by Friday (Sept 27).
In a statement on Thursday (Sept 26) evening, they said: "We are still unable to resume train services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations in both directions today."
They are aiming for a partial restoration of train services on Friday, with a single line shuttle service running every 20 minutes between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations.
"Restoring train services safely and promptly is our top priority, and we will continue to provide updates as the situation progresses," they added.
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat also gave an update on the situation on Thursday evening.
"The engineers from SMRT and LTA have been working throughout the night to assess and to carry out repairs to the damaged tracks and equipment," he said.
Due to the very extensive damage, he explained that they need more time to complete the repairs and also carry out tests to ensure commuter safety before fully restoring train services.
According to LTA and SMRT, the engineers discovered extensive damage on the tracks and trackside equipment.
"Investigations revealed that a defective axle box on a train had dropped, causing one bogie to come off the running rail between Dover and Clementi stations.
"Additionally, 34 rail breaks were identified along a 1.6-kilometer stretch of track between these stations," they said.
Other equipment damaged in the incident include three point machines - used for diverting trains onto different tracks - as well as the third rail that supplies power, and several power cables and rail clips.
This led to a disruption in train services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations on Wednesday, LTA explained.
The power trip caused another train to stall near Clementi station. As it was unable to proceed to the platform, passengers were guided safely out of the train to the station.
The incident affected about 358,000 commuters.
The affected train, a Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) train that has been in service for over 35 years, was towed from the tracks at Clementi to Ulu Pandan Depot on Thursday morning, Lianhe Zaobao reported.
LTA and SMRT said that they are working to restore and replace the track and trackside equipment and added that all KHI trains in service have passed the axle box functionality checks.
Affected commuters can take shuttle train services operating between Jurong East and Boon Lay stations, as well as between Buona Vista and Queenstown stations.
They can take the bridging bus services available between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations and also board free regular bus services between Boon Lay and Queenstown stations.
"On behalf of the One Transport Family, I would like to offer my sincere apologies to all our commuters for the disruption," Chee added.
"Our workers are doing their best to safely restore train services as soon as possible."
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lamminlee@asiaone.com
