Singapore's MRT service disrupted for two hours due to power fault

Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) service was disrupted along the North East Line for nearly two hours due to a power fault during morning peak on Monday said the transport operator SBS Transit.

No trains were running between Punggol and Harbourfront stations in both directions from 5:23 a.m., SBS Transit first announced on its Twitter account. The transport operator updated two hours later that its service had resumed.

Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) later announced that preliminary investigations indicated that a new train undergoing testing damaged the overhead catenary system (OCS) as it was withdrawing to the depot. The power failure affected the launching of trains for the morning service. LTA said the exact cause of the incident is under investigation.

The operator and LTA activated free bus boarding along all affected stations initially and was later extended island wide in light of today's O and A level examinations to help students get to school for their examinations.

Singapore's two main MRT lines came to a complete halt simultaneously during the evening peak in July, resulting in large numbers of stranded passengers along the two lines. The disruption lasted about three hours, which was possibly the worst public transport disruption Singapore has experienced. Endit